Banishment of The First
by Embodiment of Darkness
Summary: The chains of the past rattle as the door to the dungeon falls. His choices that once scorched Equestria have resurrected once more. His life inside the black has had no effect on diminishing his power nor has he lazily let it fall. He could accept the fact that he was hated, unwanted, and a living sin to this world. He just wanted one last chance to watch over and protect them.
1. Feared to This Day

Banishment of the First

[Disclaimer] I own nothing that involves My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Any apples also belong to Dole. Yeah you read it right, this is an MLP Fanfic. Yes I can be classified as somewhat of a brony, but not one that fawns over the show. Yes I like the show, it's not bad, animation is pretty good, voice acting is good although sometimes it grates my nerves, and surprisingly there's violence even if it's the harmless cartoonish kind. So if you want to go and flame war this story well FUUUUUCK YOUUUUU!...But hey, you can always...ya know...check out my other stories. Seriously though, if this isn't your cup of tea than hey it's fine. Not everybody is into the same things as others. And hey, if you're willing to give this a shot please do. If you've read anything else I have posted, then you know that those bright ass colors just mean brighter shades of red. If you have only just joined my madness, then welcome to the slaughter.

Chapter 1 - Feared to This Day

How long had it been, three years, six, maybe seventeen? No, it had been a much longer sentence than that. It was rather hard to tell when there was no such thing as time, day and night in his prison. For all he knew, nothing that he remembered existed anymore. Hell the whole world he knew could have been utterly annihilated and he was waiting for nothing. He sat on his haunches, the same thing he had been doing since this whole thing started. Other than days of combat practice he really didn't have anything else to do other than wait. He wasn't sure of what was to happen to him once he was actually freed from this black void. He had found that time wasn't relevant in his prison, so eating never became a necessity. And that meant that it was possible for him to shrivel up to nothing but bones once he was out. It didn't matter to him either way. He just wanted to get out and get another breath of some natural air, his last or not. He dropped from his haunches to his back and stared up at same black space he had lived with for as long as he could remember. He wondered exactly just what his warden was doing these days. Maybe they could all have a big reunion, that is, if they were alive. And maybe if he wasn't still remembered as the terrible being he is. He just scoffed at the thought. Naaaahh, they wouldn't hold that against him. Knowing them they would welcome him with open arms and a war- He let out a burst of laughter at that train of thought. Yeah right! Not after the event that put him here in the first place. That would be a memory etched into the witnesses' memory, and forever unseen to history's timelines. His fit of laughter ended and he was again left to ponder on his thoughts. He was honestly curious of what had become of their band of misfits. They used to be really close, but now there was no telling just what it was like between them. The terms weren't exactly the best when he was sentenced to the darkness.

But even past all of that, he wouldn't mind seeing his troop of friends again. It was obvious that they wouldn't forgive him, but just to see them...one more time, hated or not. They were the only ones that had actually accepted him so, hated or not, he would want to give them his final farewells. He pulled himself forward and back onto his haunches letting out a long sigh. Thinking on the past was doing nothing to help him. The only thing he could do was wait for his sanity to snap and he ends up taking his own life. That was all that was left for him. He picked himself off the ground and rose to all four hooves. Stretching out his limbs with a multitude of popping sounds he got ready for some exercises. A prison didn't mean he should stop any training sessions. Getting out of practice could bring about fatal consequences should he get into any brawls. Finished with stretches, he stood his full height and readied his muscles. Taking in a few deep breathes he jumped into the air. He pushed himself into a mid-air frontward somersault, gaining more and more rotations adding to the speed of the acrobatics. The somersault became a large neon green sphere with the speed picking up. He was close to following through with a final attack when a flash of blue caught his attention. Still airborne, he put the brakes on his somersault to look at the black void around him. He checked every angle even after he had touched down. That flash of color was not a trick of his imagination, he definitely saw something. He stared at every bit of his surroundings, looking for any other colors. It was when he finally caught a glimpse of what looked to be a tree that everything got a little...confusing. As soon as the tree was identifiable it had quickly disappeared again. It was weird though, the tree had appeared and was then gone as if it had interference or a glitch. The tree had repeated this process many times, but other objects started to come into view with it. Soon there were not only multiple trees, but clouds, bushes, and a small pond. He closed his eyes and rubbed his head as the multiple flashes of different colors were causing a headache.

The reason for these happenings left him stumped. This was the first time anything so bizarre had ever happened in his prison. Coupled with this was a strange pull at his hooves. He looked down to find the only black left in his solitary confinement. Nothing was there, but he could still feel something tugging on him. Without warning he was suddenly pulled to the floor, but when he looked up his eyes began to widen. It was impossible to tell if he was falling, but when he found that the glitches were getting farther away he was surprised to say the least. He continued to be pulled farther down; now losing sight of everything that was teleporting in and out of his prison. He just kept going deeper and deeper, until he saw nothing but black.

Princess Celestia quickly bolted upright in her bed. A light sweat covered her as her face was gently placed in her hooves. It had been that same dream again. It had become less frequent from the past, and soon had almost vanished. But now it had reemerged and came bearing a stronger feeling. It held no difference from her past experiences in the beginning, but the ending had engorged her with a great fear. It was an image of him staring back at her as if he had been in her very room at that moment. It was rather brief, but those eyes had left a deep impact on her for years.

She was given a second scare as Luna quickly entered her room with a throw of the door. Luna had a resembling look on her face as to the one plastered to her sister's. "Sister, I had a dream about...him." Celestia's eyes widen at the statement as she began to swell with an even greater fear. Her having a dream was one thing, but both of them. This brought thoughts to her head she wanted nothing to do with. If something had really happened she didn't want to think of the chaos.

"Are you positive, Luna?" Celestia had hoped it was just a fluke, and her problems were just on her and her alone. But that hope was shattered with a rather aggressive nod from Luna. There was only fearing the worst now. If this problem got out of hand it would be difficult to fix it. His power was rather vast and continually growing; making it more difficult to believe there was any way of stopping him.

"Now what seems to be the problem here? Why the long faces?" In a flash of light, Discord appeared with his legs lazily crossed and just floating above the ground with each flap of his wings. The Draconequus levitated in front of the sisters; a rather annoyed looked on his face. He was enjoying a rather wonderful dream when he was awoken by a commotion between Luna and Celestia. Celestia looked to Discord and quickly got her suspicions out of the way.

"Discord; have you had any dreams concerning him lately?" That question brought a very wide smile to his face.

"Ah yes, I was just having one a while ago. Remembering him and his destruction always seem to bring a jovial feeling." He comically wiped a tear from his eyes and threw it off in a random direction. "Ah...good times." His expression was changed to confusion after seeing the fear on Celestia's face. "Now what's with that look? It's like you've met with your worst nightmare." Celestia could only sigh at how he had hit the nail on the head. Nothing could deter her suspicions on his return.

"It seems that everything points to it then. After so long, he's finally coming back." Luna's face mirrored utter shock while Discord's was of sheer joy. He fell to his feet only to start hopping up and down.

"Are you telling me big brother is coming back? This has to be the happiest day of my life! Even with me being chaos incarnate, his always had a rather unique taste to it." While he continued jumping Luna was left slack jawed. It had been a great deal of time since she was banished and returned, but the time they had been separated from him was immeasurable. Out of her, Discord, and him, he was the very first of them to be banished. Not only that, but he has also been banished for the longest. Celestia had never forgiven him for the atrocities he committed. Even she couldn't believe what she had seen that day. It was still hard for even her to think a pony could do so much damage alone.

"Sister," Celestia was shaken from her thoughts by Luna's call. Looking over at the Princess of the moon she found the same look of fear from the thought of seeing him again, "just what are we going to do?" That was the question that left her stumped for minutes on end. If he was free, then there weren't many options to fall back on. The only thing that could possibly defeat him would be the Elements of Harmony, but even she doubted it would be enough. Friendship had the power to change many, even Discord, but he was a different story. The only ones he would not harm would most likely be herself, Luna, and Discord. They had been something of family for many years and he had never shown intentions of harming them in the past. A part of her was glad to be able to see him again, and another feared what he might do now that he was free. He was always there to protect the three of them, being one of the strongest in the group. It had honestly hurt her when she had to sentence him to his banishment. He meant as much to her as Luna did, but his actions had left her no choice. She had to ensure the protection of the ponies she watched over and disperse the evils that threatened them.

"I honestly can't say Luna. We haven't a clue where he might be. For all we know, he could be far off from Ponyville in some other part of Equestria." Celestia slowly put her face back inside her hooves in deep thought. Would he repeat the past and reenact that horrific day, or had his time in solitary confinement changed him. It was all so confusing and kept adding to the stress. "Just how will you play your cards?" Celestia stared at a small, framed photo sitting on a small night stand beside her bed. It had a young Celestia, Luna, Discord, and a small Colt grouped together in the shot. They all had huge smiles on their faces, enjoying the company of one another. "Feral."

The darkness had returned to befriend him once more. Dammit, he thought that he might have been freed. His one chance to be able to see them again had been dashed away. He moved to get up and quickly froze. What was he sleeping on and why did it feel good? Surprised he opened his eyes and quickly shut them again when he was assaulted by an assortment of bright colors. Wait, colors, he quickly opened his eyes ignoring the want to stop looking at the eye blinding colors. This had to be some kind of miracle. He had actually come back, finally free from his prison! "Moving would not be a wise move. It would be a good idea to let your condition improve." A deep, feminine voice caught his attention and had him glancing to his left. He was met with the sight of Zebra stirring a cauldron of an unrecognizable substance. She had the standard black and white stripes along with a short mane that resembled a black and white striped Mohawk. On her right hoof was a row of gold bracelets with a matching set along her neck. A pair of gold earrings that matched her bracelets was set inside each ear. She had a pair of light blue eyes that concentrated on the cauldron of brew as she slowly stirred it. And lastly, she had a swirl on her flank that sported multiple arrow heads surrounding it. He let his jaw hang as he studied the Zebra in front of him. Another sentient form of life, no black, no darkness, no restrictions, everything was real. He quickly stood up and rushed over and examined her, repeatedly poking her in the sides to ensure he hadn't lost his sanity. He quickly recoiled though when a flash of pain entered his hoof. Shaking his injured hoof, he looked to find the Zebra looking at him, a spoon bouncing dangerously in her mouth. She set the spoon back in the cauldron and turned to him once more. "Please do not act so impolite. Stallions and Mares acting out of their age is something I do not like." She sat down and eyed him carefully, taking in the details of his body. "So why don't I spread the icing on the cake. Why was it I found you at the bottom of a lake?" His eyes went wide at the sudden question. Once he had seemingly lost consciousness he had not a clue where he had ended up.

"Uh...I can't explain...that...sudden fate. I thank you though...for...uh...keeping me from...being bait?" The Zebra gave him a looked of confusion and aggravation.

"You seem to have trouble performing such a feat. Are poking fun at the form in which I speak?" She had now exchanged her previous look with one of anger. She did not take him trying to copy her way of speech too kindly.

"What? I thought that was how everyone talked here. I've been absent for so long, I wasn't sure how things had changed." He found her look offering anything but pleasantries. "If everyone doesn't talk in riddles, why do you?"

"It is that way to keep away the locals. That is the reason for having such vocals. Anything foreign to them is considered a sin. So I stay different and they won't come to the forest within." He could easily reason with that. She obviously wanted to be left alone and everyone usually stayed away from anything they couldn't understand.

"Then may I ask that you please not speak in riddles and rhymes with me. I wish to be able to answer your questions in full detail if able, and not always understanding your rhymes might make it difficult." She had a pleased smile take over her anger and gave him a soft nod.

"Yes, and I thank you for you politeness. Now, instead of answering my first question, how about we get introductions out of the way. I am Zecora, Zebra of the Everfree Forest, and Witch Doctor by infamous fame."

"They really think you're a Witch Doctor? I'm guessing it's because of all the masks, accent, and the way you brew in your cauldron."

"Right on the mark." That caused him to instantly facehoof.

"For as much as it's worth, I'm sorry that you are treated in such away." Zecora was surprised by the gesture. Sure she wasn't fond of becoming an outcast because of her heritage, but for someone to apologize was new to her.

"I thank you for the apology. Now, how about telling me your name."

"Yes, sorry about that, I am known as Feral. Fierce warrior of Equestria and practitioner of the bladed arts."

"I haven't heard of any warriors in Equestria except the Royal Guard and the ones of old history books." Feral became confused at the term 'Royal Guard'.

"What exactly is the Royal Guard?"

"It's an elite guard only controlled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna themselves." At the mention of those names Feral had been overtaken with a look of shock. It was good to hear that they were both living well. He honestly wanted to go and find them now, but he wasn't sure what their reactions may be. Would they still be afraid of him, or would they give him a second chance. "Hello?" He was brought out his thoughts by a rapidly shaking hoof. He shook his head and moved his attention back to Zecora.

"Sorry about that."

"What exactly was that?" Feral gave a sheepish smile to the Zebra.

"Just a little blast from the past. Don't worry yourself with it. This is something I must sort out by myself." Zecora was a bit skeptical with his answer, but didn't try to ease it any further. There were obviously some wounds he had to heal himself, and she wasn't going to open them again.

"So you said that you reside inside the Everfree Forest? What exactly is this place?"

"It is a large forest that lies on the outskirts of Ponyville. The ponies there find it a place of evil, as nature here tends to control itself here. That and the creatures that make this forest their home tend to keep everyone from venturing to far in." Feral did find that strange since he had never heard of such a thing. But it didn't necessarily frighten him. It had to adopt some way of taking care of itself if no one else would.

"Might I bother you with one last question?"

"You may."

"Where exactly are the Princesses and how may I get there?"

"They live in their castle in Canterlot. You can travel there by using a train stationed in Ponyville. Might I ask why though?" His face grew solemn as he moved his gaze to the ground.

"Like I said, I have something to sort out." It was time to go back to the ones he loved. He had made a grave mistake during their childhood, and he needed to fix it. "Though I do thank you for aiding me. I doubt being unconscious underwater would have helped me at all." Zecora gave him a soft smile and a nod.

"It was not a problem, but I do say you should not thank me yet. You may need a place to stay for the night." She pointed a hoof at a small window. Feral looked outside to find that night had taken over. This would serve a problem, as he had no knowledge of the current landscape. And though he didn't think it would become a problem, he wasn't sure of the creatures that inhabited this forest. "Damn, looks like I'll have to think fast and find a quick place to shelter. I thank you again Zecora for troubling yourself with my presence. I believe I should hurry and leave, otherwise I might lose a chance to find a place to stay." He made his way towards the door, but was stopped by the Zebra that suddenly stepped into his path.

"I can't say that I find that to be a good idea. I would feel better if you stayed here." To say he was surprised was an understatement. Here he was, a complete stranger, and she offers him a place to stay in her own home.

"I think that I've already over stayed my welcome as it is." He moved to walk around her only to have the Zebra move back in his way.

"Please do accept my offer. This forest is not a safe place to traverse at night. Plus, I'd like to get to know you better, especially with your look. I may also be a foreigner, but I've never seen such a Stallion such as you." It was a rather true statement from her and thoughts of most of the people in the past. His appearance wasn't exactly an ordinary one to find in Equestria. Size wise, he was taller than most Stallions and looked to be only a tad bit smaller than the Princess of the Sun herself. He was a pure white Earth pony, but that was where normality tripped hard. His mane was made of two colors, a primary black with neon green stripes spread out in the black. It was rather messy, but still came down his face somewhat straight with locks that rested over his right eye and would cover his left eye from time to time His tail was the same but was longer than a regular Stallion's. His came down to the floor and quickly curved up, floating a small amount above the ground, defying gravity. On his hooves were shoes made from an unidentifiable grey metal, one for each hoof. The boots reached all the way up his front two hooves, and only half way on the back. It was the same on his back hooves, but inverted. On his front hooves the shoes had two short one foot long blades the curved up from the shoe. The back two had two more blades, each three feet long, curving up again, but more outwards as to not damage him while running or during any other forms of movement. Lastly, on his flank was a mark that had almost caused her to panic. There was what looked like three large, crimson gashes stretching diagonally from the top of his flank to the bottom, left to right. If it wasn't the fact that it wasn't actually bleeding, she would have undoubtedly tried to fix the nonexistent wound.

"I tend to get that most of the time. If I must, I accept and thank you for your offer. I shall stay here till daybreak, and then I will plan my leave for Canterlot." Feral tapped his front booted right hoof on the floor of the house, as to where it responded by slightly opening just enough to get his hoof out. He repeated the process until he had fully discarded every bit of his armor. Once he was out, he carefully placed the boots off to the side and out of everyone's way. Zecora gave a curios eye to the boots, wondering just how they worked.

"So, will I ever learn anything new about you?" Feral put a bootless on his chin in thought.

"Well I do need an escort seeing as I'm an expert on direction. If you want, you can come with me to Canterlot. You should learn more their when I confront the sisters." Zecora let the question bounce around in her head. She didn't really have anything important to attend to, and she was rather curious of this Stallion.

"Very well, but we will need one more. I'm not completely familiar with Canterlot so we will need the assistance of another I know." Feral gave an understanding nod.

"That is fine, but are you sure? I know that you said you're foreign to this land. I don't want to make you do something that makes you feel uncomfortable." She only gave him a disagreeing shake of her head.

"It is quite all right, really. I used to outcast myself from most, but now the rumors have become more and more a fable and I've been treated more kindly by the local ponies. It is nice to see a friendly face, although I still enjoy the solitude of the forest." With that last sentence said she walked back to the cauldron, picking up two wooden bowls on her way. Zecora set the bowls atop a table beside the pot and filled them up with the strange brew. Setting the spoon back inside the pot she proceeded in turning back to him. "Please, come get something to eat. No doubt you are hungry and would like to stomach something." He walked over to the table as the Zebra took hers and began sipping it. He got a good whiff of the weird soup and quickly scrunched up his face. The only thing he could approach this bizarre smell with was a look of disgust. "I know that the smell is fairly unpleasant, but I promise that the taste is better than what you might think." Though with a look of doubt, he pressed the bowl to his mouth and took a slow sip. His eyes squeezed shut in preparation for the assault of his taste buds, but no matter how long he waited it never came. The taste was rather delectable and interesting, and by all means was a pure opposite to the smell. Sitting down he tipped his bowl and head back as he consumed the soup, until his entire bowl was empty. With it drained of its substance, he set the bowl back on the table and lapped at the remains of the liquid around his lips. A grateful smile was left to adorn Zecora's features. Not many people believed her cooking was great on account of the smell, so she was happy there was one pony that it pleased.

"So might I ask why it gives off such a less arousing aroma?" Zecora stopped sipping at the bowl and took a moment to swallow.

"It is to ward off the predatory animals which live in the forest. A blend of many different greens and spices gives it a terrible stench, but also makes it a tasteful mixture." Feral would have never thought of something as that. He did see that she wasn't someone of conflict, so she would need some other way of protecting herself. Sadly, his ways would have been more brutish and messy. The sound of Zecora setting her bowl back on the table brought him back to reality. She had now retrieved a small jug of water and had begun pouring it on the fire the cauldron rested on. Once that was done she set a lid over the top of the pot, probably saving it so she'll have something to eat tomorrow. "Well, now that it seems we have everything finished and questions asked answered I believe we should retire for the night." Feral agreed with her decision and began looking for a place inside the small hut. He eyed on spot and started to run to the back of the hut. While this was going on Zecora was also thinking of a place he could sleep. The sudden echo of something hitting wood moved her attention to the back of the hut, where there was nothing. Feral was gone, no matter where she looked she couldn't find him. It wasn't until a few fallen leaves floated down in front of her did she look up. The Zebra couldn't believe what she was seeing; there he was with his back legs hanging on either side of a low hanging clump of vines, his front hooves on his chest. "Feral?" The call of his named caused the Stallion to poke his head up and look down from his hammock.

"Yes?" She was sporting a look of skepticism and astonishment at the fact that he had somehow gotten up there

"How exactly did you get in those vines?"

"I jumped off the side of the tree in the back." That must have been the sound she had heard earlier.

"Are you sure that will be fine for you?"

"Oh it's quite alright; trust me when I say that I've had worse." Zecora decided not to argue and let him do as he pleased. She made her way to her bed, got in it, and made herself comfortable. She would get more answers in the coming day, so worrying about would do nothing for her. For now, a good night's rest was required for what was ahead. With that she slowly fell into a blissful sleep, along with a silently breathing Stallion.

Fires raged as they spread from building to building. It became increasingly hard to breathe as the ashes of the gardens swarmed the air and deprived the city of oxygen. The screams and cries were shrill, painful, silenced. One by one the crying stopped, and the village was left lifeless. The ground, market stalls, and even the clouds had become his canvas for the overlapping stains of red. He only sat there, a booted hoof to his chin in thought. He was unaffected, cold, uncaring of what he had faulted. Adults to seniors, Mares to Stallions, Colts to Fillies. He had no discrimination in what he added to his pallet. It played over again and again, every body, every flame, every destroyed family, every drop, it was too much. Make it stop; Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!

Celestia shot up in her bed in a cold sweat and fit of tears. She could handle any of it. The nightmares, the fear, the replaying images. They were too much for her already scarred conscious. Using her magic, she quickly levitated a scroll and quill in front of her and began writing an urgent message for Twilight and her friends to come meet her in the castle. With it written, she quickly sent it out and raised herself from the bed. Making her way out of the room, she asked the guards outside her door to wait for her return in which they gave a quick salute. Celestia slowly walked through the castle hallways eventually coming out into the garden that once held Discord's statue. This was one of the only places she found to be most calming. It helped her clear get a clear head and think properly. Caught so deep in thought she didn't notice a cloud descend from above until it was levitating right in front of her. "Would you like to talk about it?" Celestia looked up to find Discord lying on a cloud looking up towards the sky. She would have eagerly shared her thoughts, if it wasn't for the thought of him not taking her seriously. "I know what you're thinking, and I can't say I blame you, but I will take something like this seriously." Celestia was surprised to hear this, and would be lying if she said she still wasn't a little hesitant. But she also trusted Discord and knew that he was slowly reforming.

"It's about Feral; I don't know what to do. I want to forgive him, give him another chance just like I did with you, but there is no forgetting what he did. I can't forget all the screams, all of the lives stolen that day." Discord took in her explanations of the fear and sleepless nights. He was there, along with Luna, when these events happened. It wasn't a pleasant sight to any of the three and has lingered within their conscience for countless years.

"I know what you mean, Luna also fears him and I too held fear of him that day. It's not something we can forgive and forget, but I still love him. Even if it's not by blood I found him to be my own big brother. He was always there to take care of and watch over us. Always protecting me, you, and Luna from any kind of harm. It may never be easy for me to forgive, but I'll always still see him the same way I did all those years ago." She had her eyes widened since the beginning of his statement. Even Discord had feared Feral, his own brother. And even through all of that he still loves him. Celestia could not believe who she was hearing this from.

"Well Discord, I must say that you're the last person I'd thought of to have a touchy feely conversation with. I do thank you though, this was much more helpful than sulking about it." Discord only yawned as he pulled a chunk from the cloud he rested and turned it into cotton candy, which in turn he ate.

"Yeah, well don't be spreading it around. I'm still the embodiment of chaos and have plenty of ways to wreak havoc, if only inside castle grounds. How does waking up with you and your sister's mane and tail flip flopped up sound to you? That sounds pretty interesting if I do say so myself." Before she could give any objections he floated off to who knows where in a fit of joyous laughter. Celestia only shook her head at the Draconequus's antics and turned to head back to her room. Hopefully she could get some rest, and maybe live in that dream of a caring childhood once more.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, a baby dragon had woken up and was now rummaging through the library's refrigerator contents for a midnight snack. He was pretty small, about the same size as a regular filly. His scales were a deep purple accompanied by rounded off green spikes starting from the top of his head all the way to his tail, getting smaller as they descended and ending in a small purple arrowhead at the tip. On both of his cheeks there seemed to be fin like protrusion. Along with that was a tan color that began at his bottom lip and moved down to cover his entire chest and stomach region. His eyes were found to be green, matching his spikes. He was desperately shifting through all of the different foods and ingredients, searching for his one prize. "Aha!" Victoriously, he backed out of the fridge holding a large gem the size and shape of football. "I've been saving you for just this kind of occasion." The dragon licked his lips and opened his jaws and brought the gem closer to his face, ready to take a bite. Suddenly, his eyes shot open in surprise as a sudden burp resulted in the fiery materialization of a scroll and him dropping his gem, leaving it to shatter into uncountable pieces. The baby dragon dropped to his knees as he looked to the ceiling in a scream of silence, tears jerking at the side of his eyes. He scooped up a small pile of shards in his hand and stared at them in despair. "I saved up for so many weeks for a beauty like you." In blind anger he searched for the cause of his nightmares. His eyes locked onto the scroll that had caused this problem in the first place. Putting a stranglehold on the piece of parchment, he jerked it up in front of his face with a low growl. "Just what is so important that you ruin one of my best gems?" He unrolled the scroll with such angered force that he threatened ripping the scroll in half. He quickly skimmed through it, his eyed widening in shock and jaw dropping as he read it again, and again, and again. His eyes moved through the writing slower with each read, eyes growing wider and his jaw almost comically hitting the floor. Putting the scroll out of his view, he jumped up in down in place unable to think on what to do. Quickly he made a mad dash for the upper floor that held his caretaker, tripping over furniture as he ran through the dark. "Twilight!"

"And now I present this medal to Twilight Sparkle, for saving our town and banishing the Ursa Major!" All of Ponyville cheered as Twilight Sparkle stepped onto the stage with Mayor Mare. Mayor Mare was a female, light brown, Earth pony. She had a pair of dark blue eyes that were set behind a pair of golden rimmed, half-moon spectacles. Her mane and tail were a light gray with her mane having two streaks of a darker shade and her tail having one. Around her neck was a white collar held together by a light green piece of fabric. Her flank held her Cutie Mark, which was of a small scroll wrapped in a blue ribbon. Mayor Mare held the medal within her mouth as she walked to the earlier introduced Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle bowed her head, giving the Mayor the ability to place the medal around her neck. Mayor Mare, done with crowning their savior, turned back to the crowd of ponies present at the ceremony and raised a single hoof. "I announce that we shall have a celebration in the honor of our hero, Twilight!" That brought forth another roar of cheers from the crowd. The cheering assaulted Twilight's ears as she closed her eyes and raised her head with pride. She listened on, the cheering of her friends, cheering from all of the residents of Ponyville, the clapping of a single pair of hooves. She opened her eyes to find the crowd still cheering, but it was nothing but silence save for the clapping. Twilight looked beyond the crowd to find a single hooded pony sitting on his haunches outside the sea of ponies. He was clapping, slowly...clapping. His white hooves moved as if in slow motion, a loud echo of hoof on hoof sounded throughout all of Ponyville. The crowd had now been stopped, paused in the middle of their multiple actions with some floating in mid-jump. Twilight moved her attention back to the clapping pony that had now stopped his clapping. He had also been set in a spell of slow motion and was taking painstaking time to put his hooves back on the ground. But she would regret every moment she had waited for those hooves to touchdown. They hit the ground and suddenly all hearing was returned to Twilight. Her expectations of more cheering were shattered by the piercing screams and smell of burning. All of Ponyville, it was set ablaze with flames that ate everything and moved on to anything else to satisfy its hunger. Twilight looked back at the crow and instantly lost all contents of her stomach in a sudden gag that turned into a hurl. The ponies that had come to stage were almost unrecognizable by face or coat color. The mutilated bodies were brush stroked in the blood of torn limbs and exposed insides. Twilight had never in her life seen such a barbaric and hellish act of murder. The feeling of some liquid caused her to look up, only to fall down and crawl as far back as she could. Hanging from the stage supports was Mayor Mare. A set of reigns ironically gagged her and wrapped around her neck to be tied to the support and leaving her to dangle. Limbs looked as if they were severed by force with what looked to be fresh blood emptying over the stage. Her eyes were unrecognizable as glass has been broken off in them, implying that she was hit in the face and her spectacles were shattered by the force. The returning of clapping brought her back to the white hoofed pony, the only one unaffected by the disaster. Despite Twilight's fear, she worked up as much of her voice she could find. "Did you do this?" The pony halted his clapping, and instead put his hooves up and casually shrugged his shoulders. Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing! This pony didn't seem to care that her home was now in rooms and all of her friends were stolen from her. Blinded by anger, Twilight charged every ounce her magical power into her horn. She was going to make this monster pay for his crimes.

"Twilight, stop!"

Her focus was averted to the source of the voice. "Celestia!" Twilight was overjoyed to see that her teacher had come to help her. "This pony is the one who started the fire, the one who did...this." She gagged once more as she remembered what was on the ground in front of her. Celestia dropped down in front of the mysterious pony, charging her more powerful magic.

"I know, but you are no match for him. You must quickly leave, run or h-" Celestia was silenced mid-sentence as the hooded pony passed the Princess of the Sun herself. The look of horror on Celestia's face was mirrored by Twilight. Tears freely flowing down Twilight's cheeks like rivers. Celestia gave Twilight one last horror filled look upon her tear soaked face, before her head was fiercely jerked to the right leaving the spinal cord to protrude from her neck. Celestia's head was then unmercifully ripped from its disturbing angle and deposited to the ground. In a flurry of feathers her wings were torn from her back, ripping away with it skin that came off at her flank. The crown that had decorated her head was ruthlessly shoved into her chest, piercing her where the heart would be located. Twilight was speechless as her teacher and idol joined the mutilated corpses strewn upon the streets. And that pony, he just...kept...walking. He didn't even flinch at the massacre he had created. He was moving closer to Twilight, but she was frozen with fear and unable to get her body to respond. She wanted nothing else but to run, to get away, and yet she was held by his invisible gaze hidden in the shadow of his cloak. Stopping in front of her, he leaned his head forward until it was next to her ear.

"Wake up...Twilight." The subtle whisper was followed by the feeling of something piercing her chest. With all the shock, she was unable to look down to find out what it was but widened her eyes as she kept feeling it being repeatedly inserted.

"Twilight!" Her mouth opened to release only a silent scream of pain.

"Twilight!" Everything was going black; she would soon join the end result of Ponyville.

"TWIIILIIIGHT!"

Twilight jumped from her bed wailing, knocking a poor baby dragon to the floor. With tears in her vision she felt around her body for any injuries. When she found that she was perfectly fine and in her home she calmed down a little. Her deep breathing alerted the baby dragon, and was a sign that she was not okay. "Twilight, what's wrong?" Twilight quickly looked to the dragon and took him in her embrace as a few more sobs broke out. The dragon was confused by the gesture but decided not to break the hug in her current condition. After a few minutes of sniffling and hiccups, Twilight finally let the dragon go and wiped away the stray tears. "Thank you Spike, now why was it you woke me up?" Spike stood speechless for a moment. He was unsure of telling Twilight about the letter in her current condition.

"How about this Twilight, you look like you had a rather terrible nightmare. Get some sleep, and I'll tell you about it in the morning."

"No it's fine, I'd like to know abo-"

"No Twilight, I promise I'll tell you first thing in the morning, but for now need your sleep." With a sigh of defeat Twilight slowly nodded her head.

"Okay Spike, I'll get some sleep." Spike gave her a sincere smile as Twilight lay back down to go to sleep. Spike jumped down from the bed and made his way to his little basket. Curling up under the covers, he remembered just what was written on the letter. "Good night Twilight, you'll need it for tomorrow." With that said, he joined Twilight in slumber.

"So you're saying that beyond this forest lays a settlement named Ponyville?" Feral and Zecora had set out early for Ponyville as to not be stretched for time. While it would take a bit if time to leave the forest, it wouldn't cut into too much of their time.

"Yes, there we will find a good friend of mine that can gain us an audience with Celestia. It shouldn't be hard with her being the student if the Princess." Feral gave a long thought to that statement. So he's been gone for that long. He always knew she'd become a great Alicorn, he just didn't know how.

"So how exactly have things been lately in the world?"

"Not too bad, I believe the biggest thing was the incident with Discord. That sent Ponyville into a bit of distress for a while." Feral's face lit up at the mention of the Draconequus. So it seemed the whole group was reunited once more. He didn't know whether to call this his best day ever or his biggest fear. He was set on only confronting Celestia, but now he knew he'd be seeing Luna and Discord along with her.

They kept a swift pace going through the forest. Unknowing to what was lurking in it; they weren't keen on meeting the life within. It wasn't until muffled sounds of moving in the brush were they stalled. Feral sudden stop confused Zecora and had her follow suit. Zecora made a move to ask why they had stopped and was quickly silenced by the rising of Feral's hoof. Horror overtook the Zebra's features as three Manticores stepped out of the underbrush. They were mythical beasts that lived among many more in the Everfree Forest. With the body and face of a Lion, wings of a Dragon, and tail of a Scorpion, they were deadly creatures and should not be taken lightly. "Zecora." The horror filled face of the Zebra gave its attention to the white Stallion in front. "I want you to close your eyes, and no matter what you hear do not look." She didn't enjoy the thought of not being able to see when faced with these beasts, but decided to do what Feral asked on account of the fear pulsing through her. Through everything, not matter what, she kept her eyes closed. The yells, the painful roars, the sounds of struggling, and the silence. No matter what she only kept her eyes shut. "Zecora is there a lake on our way to Ponyville."

"Yes, but why wou-"

"Just please take me to it. Please turn around and then you may open your eyes. I just asked that you don't turn around, don't worry I will be following you." As she was asked, she turned around and opened her eyes. Now able to see she set off for the lake he had asked for. After only a few minutes of walking had they come to a clearing with a lake in the middle. "Thank you Zecora, now for one last time I want you to close your eyes again. Please do not open them until I ask you to do so." So once more she closed her eyes and was met with the sound of a sudden splash. While waiting Zecora only heard the Stallion, as far as she could tell, cleaning himself. The reason for this was unknown and would stay unknown. "Okay, you may open your eyes again." Zecora gained her sight back and was met with the sight of a soaked Feral. "Let us continue on, shall we?" Zecora was confused by all the secrecy this Stallion had gone through with this task and was in need of some answers.

"Just why did you want me to close my eyes." Feral only gave her a small smile and a look that matched that of a father.

"Because, my innocence may be absent, but that doesn't mean I'll dirty yours." That was all she got from him, and it left her even deeper in the dark than before. "Now can we please continue on to our destination?" Knowing that she was out of getting answers, Zecora turned back around and lead the way to Ponyville.

The sun crept through the window of the town library and covered the sleeping form of Twilight Sparkle. With the sudden disturbance, she sat up and gently fell to the floor. Twilight walked over to a mirror and faced her reflection as a nearby hairbrush was coated in a purple glow with a pinkish outer layer. The brush rose into the air and levitated over to Twilight, gently brushing her mane. When she was done the hairbrush was set back down in its earlier position as the glow dissipated. With her hair fixed she gave one last glance at her reflection. Twilight was a young, purple coated, Unicorn mare. Her mane and tail were both a sapphire blue with a single violet and rose streak running through both. Moving to her eyes, they were both a violet color. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of a large six pointed star with a smaller white one behind it and five white stars surround the much larger one. She gave a bright and enthusiastic smile to her reflection. After that nightmare last night she had gotten much better sleep the second time around. No matter how hard she tried, the images of that dream could never leave her mind. She was just glad that she didn't seem to have another occurrence of the dream. With her morning touch up finished Twilight made her way downstairs for breakfast. Since last night she had been curious of what it was Spike had intentionally woken her up for. Once downstairs she made way to the kitchen and fixed herself a cup of tea and grabbed one of the many Apple Family apples she had in her fridge. With breakfast accounted for, she then made her way into the main library where she sat on one of two couches in the middle of the room, setting down the tea and apple on a table between them. Opposite of her sat the baby dragon Spike with a small bowl if various colored gems. "So Spike, I'd like to know just what it was you had woken me up for last night." As if already prepared for the question, he raised a rolled up scroll in his hands. Enveloping it with magic she politely took it from his grasp and unrolled it, bringing it close to her face.

Dear Twilight,

It seems that we may have a dire issue upon us in Equestria. A force I have not met with for some time has possibly become free from his imprisonment. I asked that you gather your friends and the Elements of Harmony and hurry to me immediately. I'm uncertain if this plan will work, but I must do anything to keep a past mistake from reenacting. Do hurry; it is possible that he is making his way to us as we speak.

-Celestia

Twilight was both confused and shocked by what she had read. From how short and to the point the letter was Celestia must believe this to be very urgent. The thing she didn't get was how in the dark she was left. The Princess was usually rather honest with her and would never hide anything. This just gave Twilight even more of a reason to carry out Celestia's request as fast as possible. A loud knocking pulled her out of though and moved her focus to Spike. "Could you please get that Spike?" Spike set his bowl of gems down on the table and hopped down from the couch. Twilight was left to dwell more on her thoughts before a call from Spike interrupted her.

"Twilight, you have company!" Sliding to the floor she made her way over to Spike and the front door. Once was able to see who was in the door she first froze in surprise at seeing a friend she hadn't seen in a while, but that surprise warped into something completely different when she laid eyes on the company that was brought along.

"So this is Ponyville? It is a rather nice little settlement. I wouldn't mind settling down here in the future." Feral marveled at the peaceful little town. Wasn't too small and looked to have a fair amount of friendly faces. It was like a place where frowning was against some law.

"While it is a very enjoyable place, remember why we are here." Feral rolled his eyes at the tribal Zebra with a friendly smile.

"I remember what we really came for, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the travel. There are some things you can only see once in life. Don't rush the time you have, everything can be accomplished in small steps. Even if you have morals and certain standards, you should set some time off to the side for yourself." He gave an intense stare to the small town. It took a minute for him to reach a conclusion that made his eyes open in realization. "Uh...I know this might be a bit rude, but might I ask if I may stay with you at your home? I know it is indecent for a male and female to live under the same roof under our condition, but I can't think of anywhere I can go unless I find somewhere in the forest that is uninhabited. I can find my own food in the forest and I can help you gather herbs, as well as be protection." Zecora was genuinely surprised by the question. She was certain that he might want to stay in the town. One of her friends would have definitely offered him a place to stay. She was the last person she thought he'd want to stay with.

"May I ask why, I'm sure there is someone I know that can offer living arrangements."

"Well for one, you did kind of save my life. Another is the fact that you're the first one I've gotten to know so far. I've never truthfully encountered a Zebra and I wouldn't mind learning more about you. And besides, you should get out a little more. I understand that you enjoy the solace of the forest and that's fine, but there are more things to see outside the forest. I'm rather curious about what is exactly in and around the forest. Maybe we can help each other out there." Zecora was stunned beyond any words. This Stallion she had just met yesterday had accepted her faster than anyone she had ever met. She would consider the reason to be that they were both foreign, but scratched that when she remembered him saying he had been absent. It made her happy to know she had gained yet another friend, something that felt different to her.

"I suppose I could make arrangements for you. Besides, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still curious about you. You may stay, but you must also be willing to help me out and pull some weight." Feral raised a hoof in salute to her command.

"I am an honest pony and wouldn't have it any other way. I can never thank you enough for how much you have helped me."

"It is quite alright, it also makes me more curious of just what you'll do to get me away from the forest." With a joyful smile the Zebra continued on with an equally happy Feral. It didn't take too long to actually reach the town and Feral found that it was much livelier than he had first thought. All of the colors, the stalls, shops, flora, and ponies. It brought all kinds of life to the scenery and mood of the town. Feral was soon broken out of his thought though by an unnatural burst of pink moving at speed he could hardly pull off himself.

"Did you see that?" The Zebra in question only had a look of confusion to the question.

"See what exactly?" Feral guessed that only he had seen it. He was a fast pony himself, but that was an amazing feat to behold.

"Never mind." He continued to follow Zecora to the current destination that he was unfamiliar with. As they moved on he took in all of the sights before him. He found that he would thoroughly enjoy this peaceful settlement and its accommodations.

"Here we are." Feral moved his sights to the giant tree in front of them. It was a large tree and looked to be hollowed out and made for living. There were many windows decorating the exterior, some with light patches of green leaves covering them like awnings in which a lantern hung from one. On an upper half was as small balcony that looked to be accessible from the inside. A sign was posted outside that had a book on the front which, while it might have seemed to be a simple symbol if direction, could mean many other things. The front door was read with the picture of a candlestick on it and had a set of double door handles, yet it seemed that the door opened in a whole rather than a set.

"How many people actually live in trees?" Zecora let out a light chuckle.

"Only a few." Feral and Zecora made their way to the front door. As Zecora raised a hoof the pink blur from earlier returned.

"OH MY GOSH! Are you new in town because I know everyone so you must be new. And if that's the case then I need to...WAIT! Where'd he go?" A pink pony that had suddenly appeared searched everywhere for the new white Stallion. "Oh well, maybe he's already getting ready for the party." The energetic ball of random was a pink Mare with light blue eyes. Her mane looked to be curly puffs of cotton candy, sporting a darker pink color than her coat. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of three balloons, one yellow and two blue, all attached to strings opposite of the balloon's color. She seemed to always beam, the life of the party. But that smile was replaced by a look of fear followed by multiple twitches and rapid body movements. First she would repeatedly begin to shudder, followed by her tail twitching at insane speeds, cutting it off with her moving her legs up and down as if they were in pain. She would go through all of this and stopped, only to repeat the process. At the speed in which she appeared she rushed at the door and began slamming both hooves against it. "I almost forgot why I came here! Twilight, I need your help! This has never in a million bazillions of years happened before!" After a few minutes of relentless pounding, the door was answered by a small purple dragon. "Spike, quick, pretty pretty pretty pretty pleeeeaasseee get Twilight!" When Spike witnessed just what he heard the pink mare yelling on about, he was rather shocked.

"Twilight, you have company!" Waiting a few moments they started to here hoof steps and then found Twilight appearing before Zecora and the crazy pink mare. When Twilight laid eyes on Zecora she gave a friendly smile, but when it moved to the scared looking mare trembling on the ground with her hooves over her face, her face froze in shock.

"Pinkie Pie, what's going on with your sense?" At the sound of her name, Pinkie Pie shot at the purple unicorn and enveloped her with a death grip. Her gaze was locked on the sky as her tail began to twitch.

"I don't know Twilight. I've never experienced something like this. It began this morning and hasn't stopped since." Twilight gave a sympathetic look to the pink Earth pony. She had always lived with being able to know what was possibly going to happen and this new experience had frightened her.

"Don't worry Pinkie. I'm sure that there is an explanation for this. You shouldn't let something new like this frighten you. Even you can't predict everything with your Pinkie Sense. Maybe there are some twitches and combinations even you don't know about yet." That explanation brought a grand smile to Pinkie's face.

"Maybe your right Twilight, I guess it was just weird to not know something I've had for almost my entire life." She suddenly looked up at the sound of rustling in the trees followed by a falling mass. It was a white pony that slowly groaned and rubbed his head as he stood back on his feet.

"That was one fall, I don't remember going into the tree." He turned around and came face to face with Pinkie Pie. Jumping back in surprise, he pointed a hoof comically at Pinkie. "You're that insanely fast pony that startled me and got me up there in the first place!" The pink Earth pony was confused at first, but burst into an enormous smile when everything clicked in her head.

"And you're the new pony in town! I've still got to throw you a party!" She turned to Twilight while repeatedly bouncing in place. "Thank you Twilight, maybe this new sense will be something so amazing it will make everypony want to party twice as hard!" The purple unicorn gave a friendly nod to the hyperactive mare.

"Anytime Pinkie, I'm glad I could help." With a final bounce Pinkie Pie once again shot off at unimaginable speeds. Feral looked on in the direction in which she had disappeared. His jaw had descended so far he wondered if it was even physically possible and if he should see a doctor.

"This town is so frighteningly insane!"

"Being insane they play the part, but they are all great ponies at heart." The rhymes of the Zebra reminded Feral of Zecora's presence. She turned to Twilight with the same smile presented to her. "I am sorry for disturbing you without notice. We came seeking an audience with someone you know closest." Twilight still did not fully grasp the meaning of her rhymes, but got the gist that she wanted to talk.

Twilight stepped aside and raised a hoof offering passage into her home. "Well then, please come in and we can discuss this further."

The unaffectionate blaze of the overviewing sun beat down on the small orchard of Sweet Apple Acres. Apple trees were spread out among the generous stretch of land as far as the eye could see. Inside the jungle was a young mare working her hardest to buck trees to gather apples. She had a fairly darkish orange coat and dark green eyes. On both of her cheeks were a set of three light freckles. Her mane and tail was a light blonde, both in a ponytail. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of three apples arranged in a triangle. Lastly, she wore a light brown Stetson that rested atop her head. Sweat continued to roll down her faced as she reared back and bucked another tree. It was a tedious and mundane job, but it's what she lived for and what supported her family the most. With her current tree done she quickly moved to the next. Just like the last tree, she again reared back and prepared to give it a good buck. Once she released her hooves collided with the tree, but she suddenly lost her balance when the solid form of the tree had disappeared from her touch. Instead she recoiled in pain as a burning feeling shot up her legs. She swiftly twirled on her hooves to meet with a terrifying sight. The tree she had bucked disintegrated into a deep black ash. The ash kept her in an unresponsive trance as it was caught by the wind and began to drift through the rest of the orchard. Her eyes were quickly filled with horror as each tree the ash passed, that tree and those around it spontaneously combusted. Adding to the horror, she witnessed the ash slowly phase through a tree and was left in ashen remains. Her greatest nightmare slowly lived itself right before her eyes, and she was helpless to stop it. Without thinking she made a mad dash her house. Once she reached her destination she made every attempt to keep any contents in her stomach from resurfacing. Just as if it were the orchard, it had been reduced to nothing but ash along with anything inside. "Granny Smith...Apple Bloom..." Breaking out in tears, the orange mare instantaneously sprinted off towards the farm's field. The scene she was met with widened the hairline crack on her mentality. The rusty blow that had been used on the fields had been used to repeatedly cut away at her brother, Big Macintosh. It looked as of the rust from the plow kept it from making a clean cut, so he was hit with it more than once. He was now lying on his side, left as a blood soaked corpse, with the plow lodged inside his body. She was unable to look away, the scarring event taking a toll on her mind. The only thing that registered in her mind was the constant noises of different animals resonating from the barn. While she had no intentions on wanting to find out what was happening, her legs had whim to move on their own towards the barn. The mare tried to fight it, tried to run, but her own body was fighting against her and forcing her to further witness the monstrosities of some sick individual. At the entrance of the barn she found that the inside was littered with the carcasses of multiple farm animals. Innards, organs, skin, and limbs were thrown about the barn and blood bathed most of the floor and support beams. To her surprise she only found one thing stained by the devastation. Casually sitting in the middle of the barn was a lone cloaked figure. Forced by uncontrollable motion, the mare slowly made her way towards the individual. She stopped dead when it made a sudden movement and began to turn to her. The sight drained every ounce of strength she had as she fell backwards in an attempt to crawl away from this monster. In the hooves of the unknown Stallion was the dismembered head of her sister, Apple Bloom. Even after possibly tearing the head from its host, he held it as if it were fragile porcelain. Softly setting the head on the ground, he stood up and slowly strolled over to the downed mare. She had lost all of her strength and could only lie at the feet of this animal. The Stallion sat back on his haunches and tenderly picked her head up, bringing their faces close together. She could only see the masculine muzzle of the Stallion from the shadows of his hood, for it was only inches from hers. With no viewable expression in his lips, she slowly began to feel an increasing force coming from the position of the Stallion's hooves.

"I was only trying to protect you."

The mare couldn't register exactly what he meant by the statement, for the increasing pressure was becoming extremely painful. Her mouth had begun to slowly open and a small voice could be heard. The voice quickly rose in octaves as all of the pain of losing her loved ones and the thought of death weighed down on her. She couldn't stand living at the moment, the slow pain increasing to unimaginable heights for her. All she wanted was for this Stallion to end the life he had already taken.

Only black clouded her vision and she finally thought it was over, but felt something wet on her face. Her heart raced as she opened her eyes and took a quick look around. She was back on her orchard and everything seemed perfectly fine. The trees were all healthy and the fields were once again green. "Applejack!" The mare looked up to find a pony heading towards her. It was a large stallion who sported a red coat, light yellowish grey hooves, and a large collar like object around his neck. His eyes were the same green as the mare's and he even had the same freckles. His mane and tail were both a dark orange, his tail a lot shorter than most Stallions. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of a green apple with a lighter green stem and leaf that had been cut open in the middle, showing a whitish inside full of seeds. "Applejack are you okay? I heard a scream from this direction." Applejack tried in vain to wipe away and hide the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yes, Big Mac, I'm fine I just... No I'm not fine. Everything was burned, taken, destroyed! All because of him!" The exclamation was followed by another surge of tears. Big Mac took his sister in a gentle embrace as she emptied her sorrow. "He burnt the whole farm, orchard and all. Took my whole family and stole their lives." Big Mac slowly rubbed her back, bringing Applejack a small amount of comfort.

"C'mon, that's enough buckin' for today. Let's get you inside so you can rest." With that said, Big Mac and Applejack made their way back to their house for a break.

"So what is it that you wished to talk about?" Twilight levitated a small cup of tea up to her mouth and took a sip. Zecora and some Stallion she had never seen were sitting across from her. She was curious as to why Zecora brought him here and just how she met him.

"First off, I'd like to introduce myself. I am known as Feral, it is nice to meet you Twilight." He gave a small bow of his head in respect towards the Unicorn. Twilight gave him a small bow as a gesture of good will.

"Twilight, I have a favor to ask if I may. Might it be possible to gain us a meeting with the Princesses of night and day?"

A rainbow blur streaked through the sky, zigzagging among the clouds above. A scrambled blue figure was all that could be seen leading the way. It performed multiple tricks and aerial acrobatics, albeit recklessly. It was only clearly seen once it pierced a cloud and came out the other side, hovering and sprinkled in a small mist of water. It was a Pegasus mare covered in a cerulean coat. On her back were two feathery wings granted to every Pegasi. Her eyes were that of a somewhat darker shade of purple. Her mane and tail were in an outrageous coloration that could only be compared to a rainbow. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of a white cloud with a slightly curving rainbow colored lightning bolt. She took off once more as fast as she came. Twists, flips, and barrel rolls all became part of her aerial stunt show. She once again became the only sign of her existence. This is what she lived for, and what would get her closer to her dream. "Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash looked below her to find a small Pegasus filly looking at her in admiration. The filly's coat was a dark orange and she had a grayish purple eye color. She also had the same wings on her back like other Pegasi. Her mane and tail were a dark variation of pink.

"Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash's smile widened in great lengths. This was a chance to impress her number one fan and show her how awesome she was. Rainbow Dash shot straight up, ascending great heights above the clouds. Quickly breaking into a U-turn, she took a nosedive straight for the ground below. Her speed gaining quickly she had an even harder time keeping a balance. Getting a little daring, she set herself into a drill spin. The move was experimental and unstable. So far it was going rather smoothly, but a shift in her wings sent her flailing. Rainbow Dash was thrown into a free fall and was beginning panic. She couldn't regain any control and the ground was approaching fast. Out of sheer luck, Rainbow Dash was able to gain control, pull up, and miss a painful crash landing by only a few feet. She touched down in a clumsy matter of trembling legs. Her heavy breathing was accompanied by the unnatural speeds of her thumping heart.

"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Scootaloo made her way to Rainbow's side. The unexpected change in her idol's performance along with the view of her near crash experience had frightened the filly.

"I'm fine, Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash hung her head in shame and looked away from the filly. After that screw up she couldn't look at the most likely disappointed face of her biggest fan. Averting her gaze to the clouds, she noticed a single figure resting atop a cloud above. Out of curiosity she flew up to find it to be a cloaked pony. The pony just sat there, looking down at the residents of Ponyville. He wasn't alerted by her presence and made no movements, like he was just a statue. Rainbow flew around until she was in front of him, but still nothing. "Hellooooo?" She waved a hoof in the air in another attempt to gain it's attention. Rainbow grew agitated at the rudeness of this pony. "Hey, are you going to answer me?" She stared intently at the pony's white muzzle, the only thing actually visible.

"I won't let you use them." Rainbow's head tilted at the strange statement. She was surprised when he turned around on the cloud and looked back down towards where Scootaloo was. The surprise turned to horror as the cloud melted to grey and he raised his hoof high. He slammed his hoof on the cloud with a force so extreme, it spawned a bolt of lightning larger than most. Without hesitation, Rainbow was off and chasing the lone bolt of electricity. She used all of her speed in an attempt to catch the bolt before it hurt anyone, but her efforts only seemed to be in vain. No matter how fast she was or how much faster she could go, it only seemed to put more distance between her and the bolt. Tears breached her surface as she lost the race and the bolt struck Scootaloo. The surge sent her backwards, but luckily Rainbow was fast enough to catch her. Rainbow Dash hugged the jittering body of the little Filly. She rocked back and forth as the jumps became less frequent and later came to a stop. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm supposed to be the fastest, but I...I wasn't..." Another wave of tears erupted as she kept rocking. As gently as her trembling body could, Rainbow laid the lifeless body of Scootaloo on the ground. In a fit of despairing anger she whirled around, ready to take down the monster that did this. She frustratingly found that he had disappeared, most likely ran like a coward. She was ready to take off and find him when a sickening crunch froze her in place. She turned in fear to find that the Stallion had somehow gotten behind her and had a hoof risen for a second blow at the already gruesomely indented head of the Filly at his feet. On instinct Dash jumped in and pulled Scootaloo close to her body, successfully protecting her, but sadly put her in the line of the second blow. The pain was so great that it had pretty much made her body numb. She would die slowly, but without the pain of it.

"Rainbow Dash." Dash looked down to see the squinted eyes of the slowly dying Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash pulled her closer in a final hug of farewells. "Rainbow Dash." She could feel the blood slowly spread down her face, mixing with the tears. "Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes with a few blinks to regain her vision. Sitting up, she found Scootaloo in front of her with a worried look. Rainbow quickly latched on to her in a hug of relief. The Filly was shocked to say the least and was so frozen by surprise that she couldn't do anything. "I thought I had lost you." That shook Scootaloo from her cryogenic sleep.

"What?" Rainbow pulled away and only gave her a smile.

"It's nothing." Rainbow stood up and noticed something embarrassing. She was standing in what looked like a crater created by the failure of her stunt. It seemed that she had really crashed and was knocked out for a while. "That's a bit embarrassing."

"Its fine, everyone can't be perfect. I still think you're the best though Rainbow Dash."

"So what exactly is the reason for you wanting to meet the Princesses?" Twilight wasn't gain at helping them, but was curious on why.

"It's kind of a long story and really hard to understand. Let's just say I'm one of her childhood friends." Twilight could only follow up with the response of choking and a shattering tea cup.

"Wha- WHAT!"

"Angel! Angel come back, it's not safe here!" A feminine voice echoed throughout the Everfree Forest. A young mare pulled back bushes and other plantation in search of something. "Angel!" She had a light blonde coat complimented by a pair of cyan eyes. Her mane and tail were a light pink with a small curl at the end of them. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of three butterflies with cyan bodies and wings to match her mane and tail coloration. Her frantic search continued on through the forest of mysteries. "Angel, there you are!" At the sight of a small white bunny she rushed out of the foliage. She scooped the bunny up in a hug, which the bunny attempted to break from. "Oh I've been looking everywhere for you. How many times must I tell you that this place is dangerous?" She set Angel on her back and the bunny angrily crossed its arms. When the mare put her hoof down to get ready for their departure, she heard a quiet crunch. Looking down, her eyes fiercely widened in horror at the sight of a flower beneath her hoof. It was an odd looking blue flower that only grew inside the Everfree Forest. She had dealt with it before and hoped to never see it again, but that hadn't seemed to work out. "The Poison Joke..." Forgetting everything, she made a quick dash back to her cottage where she would make her way to Twilight since she had learned the cute from Zecora. Since she hadn't gone too far it didn't take long to get back to her house, but what she was met with didn't sit well with her at all. Every single animal she has been tasked with to take care of we're scattered in a jumble of limbs around the blazed remains of her home. She and Angel had been left a trembling mess with the scene. The mare shook her head, unbelieving to this sudden turn of events. "No, this isn't happening! It isn't real! It's just the flower!" She kept repeating this as if it was her own mantra, but it couldn't soothe her fear.

"I will destroy you, and this village." In surprise to the voice, the mare looked up to find what looked to be a cloaked Stallion, if the masculine muzzle was anything to go by. "I will not let you use my family for your own personal gain." She backed away in fear of the Stallion. She wasn't positive, but she was sure that this Stallion left this gruesome mess. She could feel a tsunami of malice roll from the core of this Stallion. Without hesitation, she turned around and made a straight shot for town. This might have been an illusion, but the fear was anything but fake. She needed to find Twilight and be rid of this horrible joke. Her frantic rushing through the middle of town caught the attention of everypony, but she could care less. The only thing she was focused on was getting away from that Stallion and finding Twilight so she can cure herself. Everything seemed fine as she ran, the residents were fine and the town was unscathed. Slowing down, the mare wondered if it had just been an illusion she only saw at her cottage. Huffing at the loss of her breath, she turned around only to ignite in a second wind of energy. The Stallion was lazily strolling through the middle of town. Every building he passed was soon alight and the ponies were mysteriously sliced, ripped in half, or met with a fate of agonizing scream as they were consumed by fire. She was tired of the torment and took off in an unfurling of wings that would impress even her athletic counterpart. The library was in her sight and that just meant she was closer to leaving this nightmare.

Twilight hacked up multiple coughs as she kept trying to catch herself. The news of meeting a childhood friend of her mentor and he wasn't even an Alicorn shocked her. It was a surprise to her how he looked as young as he did. "You're really a Stallion from Princess Celestia's childhood?" Feral gave the Unicorn a curt nod.

"That is right; I've been friends with her since she was a Filly." Twilight was unable to get over the initial shock of this information.

"If that is true, then I can get you to the Princess. I'm interested in what she has to say abou-" Twilight was interrupted by a sudden crash at her front door. She carefully slid of the couch and made her way to the entrance. There she opened the door to find a trembling blonde mare. "Fluttershy?"

Pinkie Pie bounced around the small space of the Cake's bakery. Everything was set to make the welcoming party for the new pony loads of fun. She had cake, cupcakes, candy, various refreshments, balloons, streamers, and many other miscellaneous party items. The chiming of the front door bell caught her attention and she looked towards it to find a tall cloaked pony. Her smile never faltered as she bounced right up to what she thought was a potential guest. "Hello! Are you here for the party? Oh this is going to be so great! I simply love parties and so does everypony else! I know you'll have just a blast here!" As she kept rambling on, the stranger just waltzed in and made his way over to the various foods laid out. "Those are for all the guests when they arrive so don't go hogging it all now." Pinkie just kept bouncing around him in a spectacle of infinite energy. The cloaked pony looked up at the bountiful cake laid out before him. It was fairly tall, layers upon layers of frosting and other sugary substances cloaked the fluffy baked good. Pinkie's smile only widened more as the mysterious pony, to what she thought, admired her magnificent work. The cloaked pony raised his hoof high above the cake and cleaved it down through the cake. That instantly wiped away Pinkie's smile and replaced it with a rare frown. "Hey, that's not nice! Just what do you think you're doing?" The Stallion pulled his hoof from the cake and proceeded to flip the entire table of party snacks. "Stop it!" Pinkie marched up to Stallion and planted her face right in his field of vision. "I don't appreciate what you just did. That was for the new pony in town. Are you trying to ruin my party?"

"I won't let you steal away my happiness." Pinkie Pie back away with a questioning brow raised.

"What do you mean? This party was meant to bring happiness." The strange pony gripped a bundle of balloons and watched them slowly pop randomly. Once he finished with that group he did the same thing with another. "Quit that!" The Stallion walked over to the welcoming banner strung up on the ceiling and tore it down. By this time the puffiness of Pinkie's mane and tail had been lost and straightened out. The bright color that expressed her delight was drained and left dark. All she could really do is sit and cry as the Stallion continued to ruin her hard work.

"Twilight, I need your help. I went into the Everfree Forest to find Angel and I ran into the Poison Joke." At the mention of the baneful flower, Twilight quickly pulled the blonde mare inside the library. Feral watched Twilight lead a shaking mare up a flight of stairs to the top floor.

"I'll only be a minute, please take a look around and I'll be back soon." And with that the Unicorn vanished from sight up the stairs. Feral examined the inside of the tree slowly. It was just what you would expect from a library. Shelves of books lined the walls, each with individual categories and authors. The only thing that didn't completely make the place feel like a library was the different pieces of furniture and appliances that would be needed to live everyday lives. He looked over at Zecora as she took a short sip from her teacup.

"So it looks like we have a ride to the castle." Zecora retracted the cup from her mouth and set it down.

"Yes, but I'm concerned by what Fluttershy saw. The Sick Joke has multiple ways of working. Some of which are not so pleasant." Feral wasn't sure what she was talking about, but knew that if it wasn't part of Ponyville that she knew more than him. The sound of hoof steps had him looking back to the stairs to watch Twilight descend into the main room.

"Sorry about that, now where were we?"

Fluttershy sat at the side of the tub as it slowly filled up. Just a few minutes and she'll be rid of that accursed flower. She rested her back against the tub and let out a long sigh. That illusion had given her quite the scare no matter how fake it was. Looking up she was met with the sight of the Stallion once again. In a flurry of flailing hooves she fell back into the tub, submerging herself in the water while taking a mouthful that was downed into her stomach. She emerged from the water with her hooves covering her face. After a few minutes her curiosity got the better of her and she removed the hooves from her face. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth when she found that the Stallion was gone.

Twilight returned to her spot on the couch. "As I was saying, I can get you to Canterlot and a meeting with Celestia and Luna. She had asked me to gather my friends and meet with her as fast as possible. I would like both of you to join us on the train ride there." Feral gave her a deep bow of his head in thanks.

"I would very much appreciate that. I thank you for your cooperation and help."

"It is no problem; once Fluttershy is done upstairs we can gather the rest of the group and head out."

"Thank you again Twilight. I really needed that." Every occupant in the room looked to the stairwell to find the same mare Twilight escorted in. Feral jumped off the couch and walked over to her and offered a hoof, which caused her to hide inside her mane.

"Hello, my name is Feral, you must be Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you."

"Hello I'm..." All he got was a hello and then a silent mumble of her introduction.

"Excuse me?" This time the mumbling was so quiet that he couldn't even catch the beginning. Twilight came up beside Feral and awkwardly pushed his hoof to the ground.

"That won't really get any reaction. She's a bit..."

"Shy."

"Yeah." Feral gave a friendly smile to the shy mare in front of him.

"That's fine, take your time. I'm a patient person so take your time and we can get introductions some other time." Fluttershy blushed as Feral turned to Twilight. "Does this mean that we may set off?" Twilight gave him a nod of approval.

"Yes, Fluttershy I need you to come with also. Princess Celestia has asked us all to come to Canterlot immediately." The shy Pegasus gave the Unicorn an almost unnoticeable nod. "Okay then, let us leave." With that, the group of four quickly left to gather the rest of Twilight's friends.

"Oh dear, this just simply won't do." A lone Unicorn mare ran about the space of her boutique. She was a white mare with a pair of azure eyes. She was blessed with a beautifully curled indigo mane and tail, but was in rather bad shape at the moment. Her horn was lighted by a light blue hue as fabric of different varieties levitated to her. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of three diamonds. She was currently searching for one particular fabric, but had come up empty hoofed. It has been days since her last time of resting. She had been hammered with overflowing orders of dresses and suits from all over. This hadn't been the first time this had happen, but it wasn't often so she wasn't experienced in going hours on no sleep. "No, no, no, oh I'll never get anywhere at this pace. I must get these orders filled posthaste. I must have set the fabric seperate from the others." She set off to search the multiple drawers spread throughout the shop in a desperate search for her supplies. After a few minutes of swimming through her drawers she pulled out with a sheet of red fabric, a look of triumph on her face. She quickly hugged the sheet of red, most likely from the sleep deprivation, but raised her head at the sound of the bell at the front door. Rather than looking at the customer that walked in she closely inspected the sheet for any damage. "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, I am proudly known as Rarity and the sole proprietress of this establishment, how may I help you?" Instead of a verbal answer she was given the heart wrenching sound of something tearing. Turning around Rarity found a brutish cloaked Stallion tearing apart one of the dresses requested in the order. The sight was so horrifying that she could only let out an ear piercing scream and pass out. The scream she omitted actually made the Stallion jump and looked to the unconscious form of Rarity.

"Damn, that was shorter than expected. I didn't even get to have fun."

Twilight and her team of ponies trotted their way through the town to pick up her companions. Their first stop would be to pick up Rarity. Knowing her, she would kill for a chance to go to Canterlot and quickly join them. It wasn't long before they came upon the establishment of the Carousel Boutique. It was an extravagant building that was taller than most buildings in town. At the front sat two windows covered above by a couple of awnings. Above the front door was a decorative sign with the picture of a pony. The building was adorned with colors of blues, yellows, pinks, purples, whites, and even a diamond patterned roof that made it hard to miss at any view. Farther up was a second story with two pony figures on either side resembling a carousel. At the very top was a small red flag that danced in the wind. Twilight walked straight up to the door and gave it a few knocks. After a few seconds of waiting the door was opened and she was met with a white coated Filly. Just like Twilight she too was a Unicorn and sported a horn on her head. She had a pair of light green eyes that were currently staring at Twilight in surprise. Her mane and tail both had a curl to them with a light purple and pink streak running through them. Her flank was blank as she seemed to be missing a Cutie Mark. "Sweetie Belle, do you happen to know if your sister is available." The newly named Sweetie Belle gave the purple Unicorn a look of worry as she opened the door further to unveil a distraught Rarity sitting on the couch, a cup of tea laid out in front of her. Twilight was surprised to find Rarity in her distraught state. Twilight and the rest of the group, Sweetie Belle curiously examining Feral as he was last to enter. The purple mare walked over to her Unicorn friend and gently set a hoof on her shoulder. Rarity jumped at the gesture, but when she found Twilight at the other end of the hoof she calmed down.

"What's wrong Rarity, I don't think I've ever seen you like this before." Rarity took a shaky sip from her tea cup.

"I'm not quite sure myself dear. It might be from the lack of sleep after getting piled with orders. I believe it was just a trick of the mind and nothing more."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Well, earlier I was in the process of completing a few of my orders when I noticed I had run out of fabric. I went searching for some in my drawers and when I found what I was looking for, the bell at my door rang. I didn't initially turn around, but I asked if I could help him when I heard the sound of something tearing. I turned around only to find a Stallion in some horrid cloak ripping away at the dresses that I had dedicated sleepless nights to! I might have given a stern talking to, but the stress on my mind was so significant that time finally caught up with me, and I fainted." Twilight's eyes widened in shock at the familiar description of the Stallion. "There was something I found rather queer though. When I awoke the dresses didn't have a single scratch on them." Rarity let out a yelp at the sudden fierceness of Twilight as she took hold of her other shoulder.

"Rarity, did you see any other details about that pony? Color, speech, anything at all?"

N-No, I didn't even register his form at all. I was deathly tired and couldn't focus on looks not did I hear him speak. Why, do you happen to know this particular Stallion?" Twilight's ears dropped and her face adopted a look of sadness at the question.

"No, but I had a dream where I saw an exact Stallion of the same description." Twilight released Rarity and looked to the floor in deep thought. Could this be a coincidence or something else?

"Uh...I-I saw the same thing...when I touched the Sick Joke." Twilight looked behind her at the shy Pegasus hiding behind her pink mane.

"Are you sure Fluttershy?" Twilight only got a soft nod from the mare. This had Twilight becoming even more disturbed at this weird coincidence. She wondered if it had anything to do with the sudden message from Princess Celestia. "This just gives us a bigger reason to hurry to Canterlot. Rarity, since you seem to be a bit fatigued I'd like you to take a rest and try to meet us at the train station. There you can get more sleep on our way to Canterlot."

"That sounds like a splendid idea to me dear. I'll get some rest and meet you at the station. I could really use the break."

"Then I guess we're off. See you later Rarity."

"Goodbye Twilight." With that said Twilight and her little party set off for their next destination, Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't too far from Rarity and was the home of Pinkie Pie. It was a small bakery owned by a lovely couple, the Cakes. Once they came to the little bakery, Feral's face became one mixed of shock and disbelief. The building was literally made of sweets. An iced over gingerbread roof decorated the top of the colorful bakery. Placed on the roof was a small pony figurine holding a candy cane. To top off the outlandish architecture was what looked to be a chimney above the roof in the form of a cupcake with candles on top!

"What in the hell?" Feral's jaw could only hang as he kept blinking, wondering if he was hallucinating. Twilight giggled at Feral's disbelief.

"Yes, every new pony in town tends to have the same reaction. Come on, we should get Pinkie Pie and keep moving." She trotted up to the door and gave it a few light taps. It was soon answered by the owners, the Cakes. Mr. Cake was Stallion with a yellow coat and green eyes. He had a short orange mane and tail. He wore a red and white hat, a white apron, and a red and white striped bow tie. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of what seemed to be cake tipped with white icing.

His wife, Mrs. Cake, was a mare with a light blue coat and dark purple eyes. Her mane and tail resembled a dark pink soft serve ice cream with a lighter pink streak. She wore a dark yellow apron with pink frills and a pair of pink ball earrings. On her flank was a triplet of pink frosted cupcakes topped with cherries. The couple gave a sigh of relief at the sight of Twilight and stepped aside to allow the group to enter. Confused, Twilight entered and was greeted with a strange sight. Pinkie was laid out in the middle of the bakery with her face buried in her hooves. The Unicorn turned back to the couple with a quizzical brow raised. Mrs. Cake stepped forward, giving Pinkie Pie a few side glances. "We're not sure ourselves what she's upset about. One minute she's setting up a welcoming party and the next we come back to find her crying for no explainable reason." Mr. Cake was the next to step forward.

"We found a lot of our baked goods missing and they weren't spread among the party snacks. We guessed that she had a sugar rush and something happened from there." Twilight examined the gracious display of foods spread out for the party. Nothing seemed to have been tampered with and the decorations were in perfect shape. She went over to Pinkie, gently placed a hoof on her shoulder, and laid down next to her. Pinkie looked up to Twilight and instantly brought her into a hug.

"Twilight! It was the worst thing ever! This big meanie pants pony came inside the store all mysterious like with his cloak. I was being nice, inviting him to the welcoming party when he decides to be a jerk and poop the party. He broke the cake, flipped the smack table, popped the balloons, and tore up the banner! All of those poor sweets, murdered!"

"But Pinkie, everything is just fine. Nothing is messed up see, the banner, balloons, snacks, all okay." True to her word, when Pinkie poked her head up she found everything in perfect shape. Seeing this brought a smile to the pink mare and her hair once again inflated.

"Yay! This means that the party is back on! I'll just have to remember to not let cloaked cake hater in!"

"We'll have to hold out on that party, Pinkie. Celestia needs us in Canterlot at once so we need to get everyone else and leave soon." Pinkie just bounced around in her normal manner.

"That's fine! Maybe the Princess wants a party. That'll make it, as Rainbow would say, twenty percent cooler." Twilight smiled, it was good to see her friend back to her over energetic self. Now all they had to do was round up Applejack and Rainbow Dash. With an addition to the party, they left with a wave to the Cakes.

"Now we can head to Sweet Apple Acres. No doubt we might find Rainbow Dash there." Twilight could only take a step before a substantial piece of weight knocked her of her feet.

"What the hell Derpy, I was sleeping on that cloud!" Suddenly a mare drooped from the sky in a sloppy attempt to land. She was a grey Pegasus with amber eyes and a pair of wings. Both of her eyes were strangely crossed and didn't seem to change from that position. Her mane and tail was both a dark blonde and had a messy style to them. On her flank was a Cutie Mark of bubbles.

"Sorry Rainbow Dash, I guess I should have been paying a little more attention." Derpy's ears and head dropped in shame.

"It's fine, just please try to be a little more cautious next time, okay?" Derpy gave Rainbow Dash a quick salute, threw a muffin in her mouth, and took to the skies once more. Feral watched the Pegasus fly off with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Awwwwwww, I want a muffin." What surprised him was that something hit him and the head and when he caught it he found a muffin lying in his hoof. His eyes grew wide in amazement and his mouth went agape. He looked up to watch the same cross-eyed pony give another salute, a bag in her mouth, and take off. He took a bite and happily chewed on the fluffy wonder. "I like her; she seems to be a pretty fun character. And rather friendly." He threw the last piece of the muffin in his mouth, finishing it off.

"As much as I love meeting new faces as the next pony, I don't intend on staying underneath you all day Rainbow Dash." Rainbow looked below her before giving a sheepish smile to the downed Unicorn. She got off of her friend and helped Twilight to her feet. "Good, now that we've found you we can go get Applejack and leave." Rainbow Dash was confused by her statement.

"Why, what happened?"

"Princess Celestia has sent me a letter asking that we all go to her as quickly as we can. Her note seemed urgent and quickly scribbled out so we should get going quickly."

"Then what are we waiting for? I'll go get her ready and meet you at the train station in a flash." With that the rainbow rocket shot off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

"Then I guess we'll be heading off towards the train station. Hopefully Rarity will be there waiting for us." They turned around and began to make their way towards the station. They were there within minutes and gathered near the opened doors of the train. "Okay, now all we need to do is wait for Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, then we can head out."

"Ah Twilight, it seems I've finally found you. I didn't see you anywhere and assumed you were still out gathering everyone." Rarity walked up the group and seemed to look a lot better than she previously had. She seemed to have been to get a good bit of rest and groom herself back to her original self.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash is getting Applejack and they should be here soon."

"More like in ten seconds flat." Everyone moved their attention to the origination of the voice to find a hovering Rainbow Dash and winded Applejack.

"Geez Rainbow, ya think about giving me a chance to catch up?"

"Good, everyone's here, now if we could-"

"Twilight!" Everyone looked once more to find Spike quickly hustling it to the group of ponies.

"Not now Spike, we really need to get going."

"I know, but you're not going anywhere without these." He held up a set of six train tickets. Twilight looked down with a sheepish face.

"Oh yeah, I guess if we wanted to go anywhere we would need these. Thank you Spike." Each mare took one tick for themselves. "Wait, but what about-"

"Two tickets to Canterlot." The group turned to the sound of metal being dropped and found Feral walking back to them with two tickets in hoof. Once he regrouped with everyone he handed his spare ticket over to Zecora, who took it with much surprise in her features.

"I thank you for the good deed, but you didn't have to pay for my fee."

"Nonsense, it's the least I could do." With everything checked out, each of the ponies boarded the train. The train whistled to life and slowly gained speed until they were appending down the tracks towards Canterlot.

"So might I ask who you are. I saw you at my boutique, but I was so tired I could only keep up with Twilight." Rarity was set across from Feral with her pressed together and her chin resting on top of them.

"My name is Feral and I have just recently become aquatinted with everyone here. So far I know all of your names and that's pretty much it." Rarity just sat there and stared the Stallion down. He slowly began to look around the train cart, feeling a bit awkward under the Unicorns stare.

"Might I ask why you are staring at me?" Rarity's eyes widened in recognition of her actions.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. It's just that your look is so...unique."

"You wouldn't be the first to say that." Twilight came up beside Rarity and faced Feral.

"I've wanted to ask you a question since you came to the library. Just how is it you know Princess Celestia?" That gained everyone's attention and they all turned to the Stallion under question.

"That information his is not yet willing to unearth. Trying to pry it from him with prove little worth." The mane six confusedly look at the riddling Zebra.

"This is true; she also asked the same question. I'll tell you just as I have told her; you'll find out when we depart at Canterlot and meet Celestia." None of them were happy with the answer, but if it was all they were getting they'd have to settle for it. "Now let me ask a question." He turned and looked at Rainbow Dash. "What in the hell is up with your mane?" Rainbow quickly rushed up and got in the Stallions face.

"You're one to be talking. Your mane is no different from mine."

"Except that mine doesn't look like the other side of a prism." Rainbow's face quickly scrunched up in anger at the Stallions rebuttal. "Calm down, I'm just kidding. I actually like it. I think looking different shows more character in a person." Her anger faded and was replaced by a stunned blush. All she did was blush and hop on one of the top bunks that littered the car. "Oh yes, I believe this will be a fun little adventure."

It took a few hours, but they had finally made it to Canterlot. Once the train had stopped they all had departed and were now walking the streets of high class society. Feral was taken away with the many expressions of just how classy these ponies were. Opera houses, fancily named restaurants that make no sense, overly priced hotels, and more. He was already missing the friendly and homey atmosphere of Ponyville compared to this cramped catwalk. "There it is." Feral was broken out of thought at Twilight's words. He looked ahead to be met with an outstanding formal castle structure. It had multiple different pieces connected to it that seemed to rise into the sky the farther you went inside. What made it more amazing was all of the cool patterns on the buildings. Stripes, checkered, stars, suns, and many more. And to top it off, it was set over a waterfall on the side of a mountain.

"So this is where she lives. I've always tried to get her to tell me what her home was like. Said she didn't like to think about it at the time, brought back some less pleasurable memories." They all made their way through the downed drawbridge and moved into the throne room. Just like on the exterior, the interior didn't lack in beauty. The floor looked glossy and reflected the rays of the sun that broke through the many stained glass windows lining the walls on either side. Pillars stood erect in front of the windows starting from the entrance and ending at the throne. A very lengthy red carpet was underneath their feet leading to the throne itself. Banners hung along the wall for no importance than just decoration. As they inched closer to the throne, Feral's face lit up in a toothy grin at what was at the end of the carpet. There were two thrones side by side with two Alicorns accommodating them. On his right sat a tall white Alicorn with eyes like Amethysts. Just as each Alicorn, she had a pair of large wings and a Unicorn horn. On her hooves were four golden shoes. Her mane and tail were fairly long with a streak of cerulean, turquoise, cobalt blue, and heliotrope running through them. The most unique aspect was that they both moved as if they were in a constant breeze. She wore a golden tiara and necklace centered with Amethysts as proof of her ruling in Equestria. Lastly, on her flank was a Cutie Mark of the sun.

Beside her was another Alicorn albeit a bit smaller than her senior. She was a dark blue mare with a splotch of black on her flank, and a pair of grayish blue eyes. On her hooves she wore four light gray blue shoes. Her mane and tail looked as if they were fragments of the night sky itself, outlined by a midnight blue. Just like her senior, her mane and tail were also being moved by a nonexistent breeze. A black tiara and necklace with a crescent moon on it was a merit of co-ruling Equestria. Lastly, on her flank was a crescent moon.

And to finish off the reunion was a Draconequus floating above the two rulers on a cloud. Being that of a Draconequus, his body was made up of many different animals. His body was long and resembled a serpent. He had a light grayish head that could be considered pony with a long black mane. On his head were two antlers, one deer and one a blue goat horn. His eyes were yellow with red pupils, but for some unknown reason the pupils were different sizes. He had a bushy be white beard and eyebrows to match. A single enlarged fang protruded from his upper set of teeth. At the end of his serpentine body was a dragon like tail with tuft of white fur at its tip. His right arm was that of a lion and the left an eagle. His left leg resembled a brown goat and the right a type of lizard. On his back was a set of wings, the right of a bat and the left of a light blue Pegasus. At the moment he was enjoying a bucket of popcorn.

The group stopped at the foot of the throne and was met with a friendly smile from both Princesses. Twilight stepped forward and gave a bow to the white Alicorn, "Princess Celestia," a bow to the blue Alicorn, "Princess Luna," and lastly a look of disapproval to the floating Draconequus, "Discord." Discord jumped down from his perch and landed in front of Twilight. He wrapped an arm around her neck a pulled her in close to him.

"Oh c'mon Twilight, are we ever going to bury the hatchet, start over new, become best pals?" He back off after touching her horn, turning it into a pointed candy can, and appeared behind Celestia and Luna, wrapping one arm around each and bringing them into a friendly side hug. "Besides, we're all mature adults here right. Surely we can act the part." Twilight attempted to use her magic, but only succeeded in having peppermint a come from her horn, which Pinkie Pie somehow caught and ate before they touched the ground.

"I would hardly the call your actions mature." Discord snapped his finger and her horn was restored.

"Well, I'm as mature as chaos can get." Twilight rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Celestia.

"So what exactly was the reason for your urgent summon of us?" The smile quickly left as it formed into a serious frown.

"It would seem that an unpleasant article of the past has possibly returned to Equestria." This confused the group greatly.

"Just what do you mean Princess?" At that moment, Discord appears between them holding a rather bountiful looking wrapped present.

"Why I believe you've already become substantially aquatinted." That said, he pulled the ribbon and the box fell apart only to shower Discord in a wave of sugary beverage. They watched on in astonishment as laughter could be heard echoing throughout the chamber.

"Please Discord, you'd think that since I've been around you most of my life that you knew I had ways to counter your tricks." The fountain of pop slowed to a drip and revealed Feral as the centerpiece of the box. Luna and Celestia had a face of shock and awe as Discord went into a fit of laughter.

"Oh it's good to see you once more after such a lengthy absence." Feral let a wide grin spread across his lips.

"I agree I've missed seeing all of you these past countless years." And just to add the jaw dropping spectacle, Discord hugged Feral.

"It's been too long, brother." And they watched Feral return the hug!

"Indeed, too long." Twilight was slowly twitching in place, Applejack looked as if she'd become stone, Pinkie was bouncing high in place, Rarity over dramatically fainted, and Fluttershy looked on with a captivated smile. Pinkie suddenly stopped as she dropped to ground and threw her hooves over her head.

"Pinchy knees..." Suddenly a blast of cobalt blue magic lit the room and collided with Feral, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Luna!" Celestia stared at her sister in shock. She had never seen her act in such a brash manner. Luna was usually calm minded and never jumped the gun like this.

"How dare you even think of showing your face to us again! Especially after the horrors you commuted." The sudden commotion had jogged everyone back to reality and awakened Rarity so they could witness another jaw dropping sight. "You burned an entire village to the ground!" Twilight remembered her dream and how Ponyville had been decimated by flames. "You murdered innocent families!" Applejack saw her entire home once again destroyed and her loved ones stolen from her. "Obliterated even the lives of the wildlife and their homes in the crossfire!" Fluttershy could see every mutilated body of her tiny woodland creatures thrown about the vicinity of her cottage. "Children were also became collateral damage to your rampage!" Rainbow Dash had tears full her eyes as she remembered the broken body of Scootaloo. "And you tore away the dreams of everypony in the settlement." Pinkie and Rarity thought back to how Rarity's wish to become the best designer and Pinkie's wish to make everyone happy had almost been utterly destroyed. "And you believe that we could ever look at you as we once did! You must find us a fool!" Feral shakily stood to his feet. The impact of the blast had caught him off guard and he was unable to brace for it. It wasn't too bad, but he'd be feeling it for a while. The group in which he traveled with turned to the massive stallion. Twilight stepped forward once more to ask the question that littered everyone's thoughts.

"Is this true, Feral?" Celestia's face was hidden behind her mane and Discord crossed his arms and looked to the ground with an expression of sadness. Feral only let out a long sigh before inhaling his next breath.

"Yes, I murdered an entire village. And I wiped it from the map." The ponies all backed away from Feral, afraid of just what it was the warrior stallion could possibly do to them. His smile widened in an amount of sadism that had their blood running cold. "And I have never regretted it to this day. They all had their destruction knocking at their door, and I only forced it open."

Well there you have I kiddies, I now have a second story to work on! Hurray! Now don't think that this means I'll be slacking on my other story. Right now, as you read this, I'm working on the next chapter to Sins of the Fallen. That is if you were follower of the story and was curious. Now I don't want any flames on this story just because it's My Little Pony. This isn't the Hub channel and I'm not targeting a child audience. I would also like anyone who reads this to inform me if I had lacked in or missed any important details. It's been awhile since I've seen the show and I've been slowly re watching it. Instead of going on memory I used the help of technology to find my information! But that doesn't mean that everything is correct and I know something has to be incorrect. So please do tell me, it'll make it possible to make this story even less of an eyesore for you. Glad you stuck around for the ride, till next time!

Embodiment of Darkness


	2. Heads to Tails

Banishment of the First

[Disclaimer] I don't own MLP or apples, only the story and OC. I won't say anything at the moment for the fact that it would most likely spoil anything in the story. Let's just get into it shall we?

Chapter 2 – Heads to Tails

Feral could only sigh in frustration as he didn't even bother with taking in the bleak scenery of his newly assigned living quarters. The freedom from his black cell was easily replaced with one of the many in the dungeon of Canterlot Castle. They had taken every precaution in assuring themselves that he was unable to escape. A ball of chains was tightly wrapped around his body, leaving him restricted to sight as the weight was bothersome to walk around with even if it didn't tax him to do so. The only problem was tripping over the chains that were dragging along the ground attached to some sizeable balls of iron. He would call it an overreaction if it wasn't for the recollection of the reason they were so swift in doing this to him. The fear was well hidden in Celestia's eyes, but Luna let it get to her and control he actions. It wasn't that they were afraid of him, they were only afraid of the thoughts of what he might do. He could have tried to calm them down, but it would have been futile seeing as this was more to calm the Sun Princess's sister's nerves. Still, this was much more than he had in that magical prison. He could honestly see things being worse than they currently were. Feral just sat back and relaxed in the thought of finally meeting up with the ones he lived for. He hoped that he could be alongside them once more in the near future.

"Are you sure about this Princess? He seemed pretty harmless when we were traveling with him and he made no move to purposefully harm us." Twilight was trying to argue with her mentor to her best degree. She thought that they might have gone a little overboard with sending him to the dungeon and then leaving him tangled in a ball of chains. She honestly believed that he could have easily broken loose from the guards that escorted him and then easily would have made a break for freedom. Celestia only sighed as a spark of sadness entered her eye.

"We are on the same page my student, but this isn't for me. I'm honestly happy to see him once again and seeing that he's not what we saw in my childhood brings me joy. Luna though, she still cares for him it's just that the thought of what happened that night and thinking if just what else he could do. Her heart is in the right place for thinking of the safety of others and found this the best course of action." The small group of mares let the information roll over in their heads and found that her explanation was in no way flawed. They for one had no personal information on Feral and therefore could only find this the only way the Princesses could calm their fear of the safety of other citizens. If his proclamation was true, then he had destroyed an entire settlement on his own and slaughtered every last pony there. The mares would be lying if they said they weren't also afraid of thinking just what that stallion could do.

"Speaking of which, where did Luna go." The sadness never once left the Princess's eyes as she thought about her sister.

"She is trying to cope with seeing Feral once again and has locked herself up in her room. I believe it may take a while before we see her once more. We all took having to seal him away hard and have always felt empty without him around. He was part of our family in a time of need for friendship that I and Luna so desperately needed. We all quickly became inseparable and merged into a little family of our own. We all took to him as a figure of seniority and he was always quick to help and defend us in the face of danger." The more she talked, the more she remembered, and the more it just kept on hurting her. It was hard for her to deal with the loss of the one she idolized so much. When they were all together she felt as if nothing could ever hurt her, not while her family stood strong beside her. Celestia looked at the door that housed the so called demon with a look of regret. She hoped that she could soon get her sister to try and reform her bonds with him so that they can be together once more. Twilight left her teacher to reminisce in her thoughts and turned back to the group of mares.

"Well it seems we won't be seeing Feral again for quite a while." Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and looked on at the dungeon door in anger.

"Serves him right, this must be paradise for the things he's done."

"But that's just it Rainbow Dash, while he said he did those things why didn't he do the same to us?"

"Maybe because he was using us to get to the Princesses." While Rainbow was quick to answer with some reasonable theories, some things were still bothering her.

"If that's true, then why didn't he do anything even after we brought him here? If anything he would have most likely retaliated after Luna struck him with her magic. Nothing that has been presented to us makes since and it's raking my nerves!" Twilight dropped to the ground in frustration of not having any plausible way of answering her problem. At the feeling of a hoof on her shoulder, Twilight looked up to see Applejack lying beside her.

"You need to just calm down sugar, you're thinking a little too hard on this matter. Maybe we should try and get the story from the Princess, and then we can try to piece this whole mess together." Twilight could only nod in agreement, it didn't completely help ease her worry, but it was better than nothing.

"Well I just hope he gets out of their soon so I can fix that mangy mane of his." Every one of the mares could only gawk at the statement that came from the designer's mouth. Rarity only battled the stares with a look of confusion. "What? Did you not see that atrocity atop his head! I cannot sit by and watch such a crime walk our streets!" Rainbow Dash could only facehoof at Rarity's usual antics.

"Really Rarity, why is it that with everypony you always have to judge their looks before anything else they've done?" Rarity only put a hoof to her chest and tossed he chin to the sky in a dramatic fashion.

"It is my duty to supply everypony with only the best of clothing and that stallion is mocking me!" That only brought about the echo of four more hooves meeting the owner's face. Sometimes the unicorn could not only overreact, but also be a bit harsh even if it was in good nature. Rainbow Dash turned back to Twilight who was currently looking at the ground with a hoof to her mouth.

"So what do you think we should do, Twilight?" The purple unicorn took her hoof away from her mouth and instead answered the floor.

"Like Applejack said, we should get Princess Celestia to explain just what it was he did. Hopefully learning a bit more about him would help in figuring out just what kind of pony he is." All of them turned to Celestia who was still staring at the door to the dungeon. The Princess's mane and tail seemed to have lost their ethereal shine after meeting up with Feral. The six mares slowly approached Celestia, their hoofsteps gaining her attention and causing her to turn around, straining to keep a smile on her face.

"Hello Twilight, is there anything I can do for you and your friends?"

"Actually, we wanted to know more about your connection to Feral and just what it was he did to shake you and Luna." That wiped the smile straight from her face. Celestia knew they would ask that as soon as that little episode transpired in the throne room. This would be the first time she had ever spoken of her past to anypony but her sister and Discord. Well you know what they say; you'll feel better once you get it off your chest.

"I guess since I brought into this confrontation I can at least give you a history lesson and an explanation. Come, let us head to the dining hall, I'm sure you are hungry and we can talk over lunch." Celestia slowly began to walk down the hallway to her right, the six mares in tow.

With her magic, she had enveloped her pillow in a telekinetic spell as Luna repeatedly hit herself in the face with it. She couldn't believe how she had acted in front of everypony. Her she was, a mare who aged over more than a thousand years, acting like a newborn filly. The fear at seeing him was still there, but that was no excuse for what she had done. The least she could have done was giving Feral a chance to explain his past actions and gain redemption. "I swear I can be such an idiot sometimes."

"I could drink to that." Surprise at hearing somepony else had entered her room; Luna looked to her right to find Discord still afloat on his cloud. Sighing in annoyance she buried her face once more in her pillow her words muffled by her weapon of self-inflicted discipline.

"Is there a reason you've come to bother me Discord?"

"Not really, just wanted to ask you what that outburst was all about. He looked a little hurt with you putting him on the spot there." Luna threw the pillow to the other side of her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"You act as if I don't already know of this. I was childish and let my emotions control my actions which lead to this unwanted conclusion. I wish to see him again, but I must calm myself so that we won't have a repeat." Discord just raised a small wine glass at her words.

"It's like I told you, brother's chaos has a unique feel that differs from mine." And with that, Discord downed the small glass of what Luna thought to be wine. Instead of a face of joy and mischief, he let his eyes rest into a more serious posture. "So how do you feel about him being back again?" The question not only peaked her curiosity in how he became so serious, but also just why he asked.

"No matter how I had acted back there, I'm honestly delighted to see him return to us. We were all so happy when in one another's presence. It will always be known of some of the best moments I've ever had in my life. The days when we were nothing but little colts and fillies, no royal meetings or duties to tend to, too bad it all had to come to an end. I wish that things could have turned out differently for him. Knowing my sister, she was probably hurt the most seeing as she looked up to him the most. I'm mostly surprised at how long the sealing lasted and how he doesn't look any different from the day we left him."

"Well it was a space and time spell, so I wouldn't see how it would age him anymore than the number rather than the visuals. Besides, he wouldn't have aged anyways; you and I both know that. But the better question is what is going to happen to him? I know for a fact that you two have to do something about what happened all of those years ago. Even if it is justified, killing that many civilians is still considered murder."

"Not to mention the children that got caught in it." Discord shot her a confused look, raising his brow at her words.

"What children?"

"All of the children that he slaughtered along with the adults." Discord still kept his confused look before it contorted into one of enlightenment.

"Ah I see, so he didn't tell you yet. I guess you'll have to ask him since I'm positive your curiosity is definitely getting the best of you." And with a snap of his fingers he was gone as fast as he came, leaving more questions for Luna to solve. Sadly, the only way to get the answers was to confront Feral himself. She was a little afraid to talk to him after her accusation on how he was nothing but a monster. Luna moved her gaze downed to her door that was left slightly ajar from her sudden entrance. If there was any time to get this over with, it was now. First she would have to get her sister and the others. No doubt they had already asked Celestia questions on the imprisoned stallion. Luna gently fell to the ground and opened the door the rest of the way. As always, two of her personal guards were standing as attention on either side of the door.

"I will be with my sister if you need me, until then I ask that you not disturb us. We have some personal matters to attend to and I would like to keep it at that." They gave no verbal response as she left, only a silent salute to let her know they got the message.

"So you're telling me you've known Feral before gaining your title as Princess?" It didn't take long after they had all gotten something to eat for them to quickly bombard her with questions. Celestia had tried answering them all to the best of her abilities. She found that they had become somewhat friendly and acquainted with the stallion and didn't want to sully his name with information she was unsure of herself. So far she was only asked of when they had met, what they did, and any adventures that they had gone on. Each mare had their own question on a different subject. It was entertaining to watch their expressions of wonder at how their classy ruler wasn't always how she seemed. It was most enjoyable to see Twilight's face as she learned of her mentor's childish ways. Rainbow Dash would yell out about how cool something was or how she couldn't believe somepony of her status had done something like that. So far it had gone much better than she had originally thought of the idea, but there was always that one question that had you cornered at the beginning of the conversation. "So Princess, what was it that Princess Luna and Feral got into squabble about. She said something about decimating an entire village. Just what was did he do that it was so horrible you had to lock him up. And that was the one thing she was trying to avoid. Celestia looked down at the empty plate in front of her. She couldn't hide this from them any longer. The least she could do was give them the full story after dragging into her personal life issues.

"It was as Luna said Twilight; he destroyed a whole pony village by himself."

"But just why did he do it is what I'm wanting to know." That right there sent Celestia's mind into a complete overdrive. She had never thought about it before, her and Luna were just worried about making sure that he would never be able to do it to anypony else. They had never been told why he had done what he did, only that they had awoken to the blazing heat of the ash remains that once belonged to the village that had housed them without pay. Feral was never given any right to justify his act right before he had been sealed into who knows where.

"I can't really explain that to you, for I don't know myself." Twilight's eyes shot open in surprise at the gap she now had between her information. "After what I, Luna, and Discord witnessed we were more worried about protecting those around us. We were quick to act and effectively sealed him in some pocket of space we had no control over. And even if he did have a justified reason we can't excuse the fact the he murdered not only adults, but also children."

"Again with that children crap, I thought I was done with that when I left little miss darkness." Everypony looked to find Discord sitting across from Celestia, his chair turned into a large fluffy marshmallow. A small teacup was floating upside down in front of him. A small spoon was inside the cup, effectively stirring whatever it was the cup housed before gripping the handle with only his pinkie and drinking the beverage from the bottom of the cup. "I don't believe I can see where you get you sudden accusations from dear Princess, but you do know what is on the other side of a coin I hope. How about instead of throwing around blames we go ask what happened on the other end. Seriously, you seem to forget that we are now housing the one stallion that actually destroyed the town who can tell us why he did it instead of trying to explain it to these mares by yourself. By just looking at her I can see that Twilight might short circuit from all the gaps that she's having to jump in the small tidbits of information you're supplying her with." That brought about a glare from the purple mare that promised a bit of magical pain should he continue on. Discord jokingly flinched and surrounded himself in a hamster ball big enough to house him before it dropped to the floor. "Come my little detectives, let us take a trip to the national museum of Celestia's past, the only thing that could possibly be older than the Princess herself." That also got him a glare from the sun raiser herself. Discord only let out a chaotic chuckle as he rolled down the halls of the royal castle.

Luna kept up her slow trot through the multiple corridors that speckled the castle. Even after living in it for so long she still somehow got lost in it. She wanted to find her sister quickly so that they could gather everypony and go talk to Feral together, but that goal was becoming more difficult with every turn she took. She was no walking down probably the thirtieth one she found, or it felt like that anyway. Luna moved at a brisk pace as she gained an annoyed expression at seeing another break in her path. Stopping in the middle, she had a little war in her head as to which way could offer a higher probability of finding her sister the fastest. As she fought with herself, the lights of the hallway suddenly blacked out. Luna looked around in shock as she found that she could see nothing in front of her. Right before she was about to scream out for assistance she heard a loud with ring out through the castle. Confused, looked to the left hallway only to have her eyes slowly widen at the oncoming source of light. The whistle let out another screech as it gradually made its way to the Princess of the Night. Out of nothing but pure fear, Luna turned to the right hallway and took off in a full sprint. With the rays of light casting over her form she didn't need to look behind her to see that whatever was in the hallway was easily gaining on her and threatened to squash her. Only after a few seconds did she collide with the object, quickly taking a hold of it. As far as she knew, she was far from deceased. The feeling of going round and round made her feel a bit dizzy and sick, but she would take that over death. After a while everything came to a stop and Luna slowly fell to the ground followed by a fit of laughter. It took a minute for the Princess to get her eyesight to focus before she frowned at the Draconequus dying of laughter. "Might I asked what exactly you were doing Discord?" All she got was a second coming of laughter.

"Aw man, why is it that I can tend to make things appear for my little bouts of fun, but never seem to have a camera on me? I think I need to make an investment." That did nothing to quench the growing anger from Luna.

"I'll ask once more, what were you doing rolling down the hallways in a hamster ball?"

"It's all in good fun Luna. I even brought some guests along for the ride." His words were true as Celestia and the Mane Six were trotting down the hallway Discord had used as his own personal bowling alley. All of them stopped at the crash site as they all stopped, out of breathe at trying to keep up with the mobile Draconequus.

"I do hope that there is a reason behind me getting assaulted in such a way, sister." While Celestia tried her best, she couldn't help but chuckle at the incident Luna got stuck in.

"Indeed, we were about to go uncover a bit of unknown history. Would you care to join us?"

"Yes, it was the reason I was in the hallways in the first place. I curse those architects who made this grand structure." Luna joined the small group as they followed the embodiment of chaos as he barreled down the hallway with a little too much enthusiasm.

"9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14…" This really pissed him off at the moment. He was hoping that once he was free he would be able to relax a little before moving into his workout process. He couldn't complain too much though, at least he got to stretch his legs a little after being imprisoned for so long. And to be honest, if he wanted to survive at all he'd have to stay in top condition. "118, 119, 120, 121, 122…" That is what the group of mares and one Draconequus were welcomed to once they entered the chambers and came to his cell. While the Princesses were not surprised by the stallion's show of strength, the younger mares had their jaw to the floor as they watched him perform this feat without breaking a sweat. As they stared, Applejack thought about how much of a help he could be on her farm with bucking and carrying apples. Rainbow Dash was awesome of a fighter Feral was and wondered if he had any battle stories he could tell her. While Rarity was still thinking how horrific his hair was she couldn't help but gawk at how strong he was. Fluttershy was afraid that he might injure himself and wanted to ask him to stop, but couldn't bring herself to it. Twilight was having her own little malfunction as she had never seen anypony, not even Applejack, express such unimaginable strength. "148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153…" A curt cough from Celestia gained his attention as he stopped his squatting and dropped into a sitting position, the red on his face eliciting a chuckle from the Princesses. Out of embarrassment he moved his attention to the stone wall on his left.

"Yes, can I help you?" Celestia stepped forward, levitating a key that she used to unlock the cell door and let everypony enter. Once they were in she went over to Feral as he just stared back at her. Neither moved as Celestia only examined the ball of chains around the stallion before smiling while her horn was surrounded by a golden aura before the entire mess of chains fell to the ground as one. Feral looked down in amazement and disbelief as he was finally able to move his front hooves freely. "What the…how did you…damn it all! I never was any good at puzzles." Feral quickly jumped at Celestia and causing every mare besides Luna to quickly move to intercept him, but were stopped by a golden field that was erected around the two. Luna smiled as she watched her sister sit on the ground and hug the stallion that wrapped around her neck. "I really missed you guys." Celestia could only smile at being reunited with the stallion she held so dear to her.

"We've missed you to; you have no idea how different it's been without you beside us." A few tears escaped both ponies as they relished in each other's company. The contact was broken as Celestia stepped out of his grasp and rejoined the other mares who were still flabbergasted by the show of affection. Surprisingly, even Discord didn't seem to have the heart to destroy such a tender moment. Feral fell back on his haunches and crossed his back hooves putting one front hoof on his left knee and letting his head rest on the other one that was propped up on his right knee.

"So while I am happy about the reunion, I know that isn't the only reason why you came down here. So what would you like to know? History, past, present, how I know Celestia and Luna, why my hair is so freakishly cool, or how these blades aren't cutting my back hooves even while I'm sitting in this weird position? You name it and I can tell you it, well except about the present because it still confuses the hell out of me at the moment." Rarity gave her two cents as she threw the stallion a look of disgust.

"How about why you speak with such vulgar vocabulary, such brutish practices are very disrespectful especially in the presence of royalty." Feral could only give her a sly, toothy smile.

"No offense lady, but I've seen and done a lot of things in my time of living so it's kind of my badge of valor. And if the Princesses had any problems with my language they would have told me a long time ago. When your life isn't perfect and confined in the city, you kind of gain ways of proving you can back up your bark. You won't really solve your problems on the outside with calling somepony a big meanie, that will get your ass handed to you in an instant." Rarity just recoiled in disgust as he continued on with such vulgarities and dramatically threw her head to the side, signaling that she was through talking to him. Next was Rainbow Dash who quickly flew into his face with a giddy look sparkling in her eyes.

"Can you tell us about all the adventures you've been on by yourself and with the Princesses?" Feral smiled at her eagerness for a good tale of his battles and travels.

"Maybe sometime after I'm hopefully able to leave this cell." Applejack came forward with the third question of the group.

"This is stupid, but how exactly are those swords _not_ hurting you?"

"Magic…" Applejack could only stare at Feral dumbly as he only grinned.

"Are you being serious or sarcastic?" She had difficulty reading that ever present smirk that adorned his face.

"I don't know, you tell me." The farm pony could only facehoof at the fact that the answer got her nowhere. The fourth one up was the timid Fluttershy.

"Um…are you hurt…from lifting those chains…and uh…h-how did you become s-so strong?" Feral's grin died down into a sincere smile at the kindness that resonated from the sweet mare.

"I thank you for your concern and promise you that I am not injured. The strength part is from never going out of practice, even when I wasn't on this actual plain of existence." Fluttershy blushed at how he treated her a little more softly with his answers when he saw her timid and fragile nature. She gave a soft nod and backed up into the group, hidden once more. Lastly was Twilight who patiently waited for all of her friends to release their excitement before she tried to get underneath everything.

"I want to know just what happened at the incident that landed you here in thins dungeon. Just what did you do, and I want every bit of the truth from your side of the story. I've already gotten what Celestia has given me, but what do you have to add?" The long awaited question had Feral drop his carefree nature and break out a more serious persona.

"So you were given Celestia's side of the story?" He got a quick nod from the purple Unicorn. "Well then, I won't bore you with any repeats of the same history lesson. The same as she told you we were trying to search for any clues of information on anything regarding Celestia and Luna's parents and their whereabouts. It had us come upon a poor and, pardon my disrespect, pathetic looking settlement. Kind of like Ponyville it had different races working together to make sure that the settlement could stay on its feet. One thing unique to this place though was that the Unicorns there had set up a group that would help raise and set the sun and moon. They found it their duty to do this in the absence of the rulers of that time period and also needed it to grow the crops. The only downside was that they were weak and starving, without the powers that come from being an Alicorn. When we first entered we were graced with the sight of them attempting the feat, but the stress of the work had gotten to them and they easily fell one by one. Out of instinct, Celestia rushed in and hurriedly raised the sun which easily stunned the citizens at not only seeing an Alicorn, but also seeing a pony that could single handedly raise the sun they had so desperately tried to keep raising. This was also an instance of little Celestia here earning her Cutie Mark. At this display of power the ponies of the village were quick with praise and thanks. As I'm pretty sure you all are guessing it, once night was approaching Celestia coaxed Luna into trying to perform the same thing she had done only with the moon this time. While at the time it didn't come from any instinct, she was able to raise the moon albeit slower than how Celestia raised the sun. It was a sloppy display of her magical ability, but she was also in training with her magic and doing something like that no matter how slow is very large step in skill. For doing this we were offered a free stay at one of their inns and given a dinner course. It wasn't until later that night did the truth have me spitting on the graves of those trash excuses for ponies. While everyone was resting I decided explore the small town for any unknown threats on these three's lives. I thought everything was clear until I came upon the only building that was still lit up by candlelight. When I went to inspect what was going on I was met with probably one of the most cliché sights I'd ever see in my life. It was a medium sized group of the ponies that lived there, a cult of sorts. They called themselves 'The Horizon', a nod off to them watching over and ruling Equestria like how the sun controlled the crops and many other lifestyles of ponies and with it they could be like gods in their eyes. The only thing they needed were the poor, tired, and defenseless mares that had come to them. They were planning on crippling both Luna and Celestia so that they would grow to obey and then use their powers to control other provenances. I would sadly have to say that it might have worked, if they actually accounted for anypony trying to stop them. The first thing I did was head back to the inn and woke him up. I told him to gather anypony who wasn't inside the cult meeting and the children and tell them to leave the village on the account that there was a small group of bandits coming to raid the village. Thankfully that little lie worked and the uncorrupted adults and children were quick to leave the village. That was when I made my move and assaulted the cultist party head on. I was in a bloodlust rage as I began to slaughter them as quickly as I could. Some tried to escape and even made it into the town square, but that was about as far as they were getting. I'm not sure but I believe some candles had gotten tipped over in our squabble and that caused a slow chain reaction between the houses. Once I had finished I had sat down in town square to gaze upon the hellish punishment. It was at that moment that Luna and Celestia had awoken due to the fire and screams and came to try and help. When they arrived they were horrified at what I had done. They linked their magic together and unconsciously casted a spell that sent me into a slip in space that had no time inducing properties meaning that my body grew like it was supposed to, but ageing wasn't a factor." As his story reached its conclusion every mare, including the Princesses, had a visible look of shocked etched in their faces. He wasn't surprised, since they were young back then and not used to what the outside world could be like at times they couldn't believe what that village would commit such a horrendous act. They believed that he had done what he did out of reaching a breaking point in the stress of traveling and became unstable, when in fact they had no idea what was really going to happen should they have stayed among those ponies a day longer. The good thing was that they found out that not all of them were like that and the children along with the pure adults were evacuated before the massacre. Luna just had one more question she had thought up in the middle of his story.

"If Discord got the families that had nothing to do with the cult, why did Tia and I find the bodies of some of the children mixed in with the older victims?" Feral looked down to the stone floor as he gritted his teeth in pure anger of remembering that night.

"Those sick bastards only cared for themselves, while Discord was trying to get everyone out there were some children and adults from families of the cultist that straggled behind. They didn't care at all as they just trampled anything in front of them in a desperate attempt to save themselves. This is why I don't regret what I did back then. Those ponies were a waste of space in this world. I don't hold myself higher than them, for I stooped to their level that night when I killed them. I thought I was bringing justice and protecting my family, when all I was really doing was taking others' lives and deciding if they should live or not. I will atone for my actions and seek forgiveness, but I will never change my view on how they had deliberately asked for such a fate." The chamber was left in silence as they processed the information on what they hadn't been there to witness that night. When they were hoping to come down here to get some answers they didn't expect something like this. Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six were some of the most devastated. They had always learned that friendship made it possible to change everyone and give them a second chance, a good example being Discord. Now they had learned that there were some people that were so lost that they had no hope of being saved. Twilight could only sit back on her haunches in disbelief.

"Everything I've learned, the things we've all done to get others to try and embrace friendship, it's all a lie?"

"No," Twilight looked up to the hardened eyes of the stallion, "no matter what you have heard today, people can be changed and helped. Don't think just because there was one bad bunch means there's no hope for anypony else. I may be a monster, but that doesn't mean you should let others succumb to the same fate. Always try and offer you kindness and help them become better people. It's people like you that keep people like me from existing." Twilight smiled through teary eyes at the stallion who tried to rekindle her faith in friendship. "So might I ask, my fair wardens, how long I will be in here and what my punishment will be." He smiled up to the devious eyes of the two sisters, each sporting a smirk almost larger than his own. Celestia's horn once again erupted in its magical glow before Feral felt a pair of shackles cuff his front and back hooves.

"While I do believe you story as Discord had hinted into your real intentions earlier, I have to let my subject's nerves calm a little before I can release you. I also have to think up a reasonable punishment for your actions. Sadly, until then you will have to stay there until that time comes." Before leaving, Luna rushed to him and pulled him into an embrace.

"It's good to have you back with us." Another smile was quick to smear his lips as he nuzzled into her mane.

"It's good to be back." That said Celestia herded all of the ponies out of the cell before locking it once more. Both sisters gave him one last smile before leading everypony back to the castle halls. After they had left Feral had small droplets of tears threatening to break through as he just realized something. "Wait, how am I supposed to exercise when I'm chained up? Come on guys not cool!" He was brought out of his comical whining as a chess board appeared in front of him. Looking up he found Discord setting up the pieces on the board.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to entertain you by different means." Feral chuckled at the Draconequus's attempts at keeping him occupied.

"Same old Discord."

"So you're saying this is the place that was closest? This looks like it will be a cake walk compared to past works." A small group of Unicorns sat on the very edge of the Everfree Forest as they scoured out the small village ahead. The three Unicorns were a group of plain looking stallions, not purposefully drawing any suspicious attention to them and making their jobs easier. The first who had spoken was a gray Unicorn with a black mane and tail. His eyes were amber, giving them a predator like feel to them if he were to stare at one pony for an extended period of time. On his flank was the Cutie Mark of what seemed to be a rolled up piece of black leather with a large golden lock in front of it. To his left perched against a tree was the second stallion of the group who had a dirty blonde coat with a beige mane and tail. His deep sea blue eyes looked up into the tree in boredom, waiting for the next plan of movement. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of a broken gold rimmed monocle with a shattered lens. He looked down to the grey Unicorn with a look confusion and tiredness.

"Why can't we just go ahead and move in Key? It's not like we will stick out in among the crowd."

"I know that Silver, but we can't risk getting caught even if we have the experience at what we do." Key looked up to find the last Unicorn on a tree branch above him. "You see anything to use as a contingency plan Spell?" The pony above him had a light blue coat with a pale grey mane and tail. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of what looked to be an ancient rune with a long black piece of fabric set behind it that looked as if it was going to wrap the rune in an unbreakable grip.

"So far all I see is a few fillies that we could use in a hostage situation as a median for our freedom should it come to an escape plan. Other than that I see some great scores for some rather boisterous loot."

"Well at least this place seems pretty good for a clean sweep. C'mon guys, I'd like to be in and out as quickly as possible." All three left the confines of the bushes as they headed for the town. Key scoffed in disgust as he read the welcoming sign while they passed it. "Welcome to Ponyville, makes me want to punch a foal."

Twilight took in the view as she was currently airborne in one of the two sky chariots, riding with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "So Princess Celestia, what exactly are you going to do with Feral?"

"I will release him in due time, but not without his punishment. While I know it will be a slap on the wrist he was more like one of my Royal Guard and was doing his duty in protecting me and Luna. I will have him under surveillance by having a small mixture of mine and Luna's guards. He will then be sent to Ponyville and help around town with work and miscellaneous tasks. Soon or later he'll be free to wander on his own accord once more, but that may take while to achieve." The chariots soon touched down in Ponyville and Rarity was quick to be the first one to disembark.

"I'm sorry everypony, but I need to check on Sweetie Belle and also get back to finishing up my orders." And with that she was quickly off to her boutique.

"Twilight, I thank you and your friends for coming to us on such short notice and would like to thank you for helping us in our endeavors. I do hope that we can do this again sometime." As Twilight was about to thank Celestia, a scream echoed through the streets of Ponyville. All six of the mare's ears shot up in alert as they were quick to recognize its owner. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were first to take off as every other pony fell behind. Applejack was first to speak up and confirm everypony's fears as they neared the source of the scream.

"We need to hurry; anything that overdramatic has to be Rarity." They skidded to a halt just as quickly as they arrived, frozen by fear with the scene that opened before them. A group of Unicorns had somehow ransacked the Carousel Boutique in broad daylight and had no taken Rarity and Sweetie Belle hostage. No matter how much they wanted to help them, the knives that were held to their throats prevented them from doing so.

Key gritted his teeth in frustration at the mess they had gotten themselves caught up in. Their first hit was a boutique that they had come upon first. Everything was going good as they had actually been able to pick the lock in the middle of the day without being caught. Once they were inside the searched the establishment and found that there was a rather large assortment of gems used for designing the clothes they had found on the mannequins. So they went ahead and began loading the gems up in their saddlebags when they had heard something fall over. When Key looked towards the fallen object he found a filly cowering in the corner. That pissed him off because now they had to dirty their hands thanks to a witness to their theft. They were quick to round up the filly, gag, and tie her up. He had hoped nothing else would get in the way when, curse his luck, the owner to the shop walks in on them. Now they had two mares hostage with blades to their throats and an audience to watch. Silver, who was keeping a tight grip on the filly, backed up next to Key and scanned the crowd. "Key we have to find a way out of here, we've attracted some rather higher up viewers." Key was confused by the statement before his eyes widened when they stopped on the forms of the Princess sisters in the crowd with a few of their guards in tow. Key glanced to his left as he felt Spell bump into his side.

"We have a problem here Key. The guards are surrounding us and more are on their way. I don't think we'll be able to get out of here through regular means. We may have to settle for some extra weight for the time being, until we can at least find a way to make sure they won't follow us." Key wasn't too keen on it, but it was all they had on making sure they could get out of here in one piece.

"Princesses, I have a small proposition for you that I would like to ask if you would mind hearing." Celestia only nodded in his direction, searching for any opening her guards can take to secure the two prisoners. "We are going to take these two mares with us, knife to throat, and you're going to let us slowly leave. If you abide by this, I promise that they will be sent back here unharmed, but if I find out we were followed you're going to have a bit of a messy cleanup here." Celestia and Luna could only sneer at the requests they made. They thought they were going to let them get out of this unscathed and without punishment. Sadly, it might be that way seeing as how they can't risk any harm coming to the civilians that had gotten wrapped up in this. Before Celestia could agree to the terms laid out, Luna swiftly stepped forward.

"I would ask that you instead let me substitute as a hostage in exchange for these two's freedom." Both sides of the treaty were surprised by the sudden offer, but Celestia was going to have none of it.

"No Luna, I can't let you do that."

"I'm sorry sister but I'm not going to sit by if there is a way I can help someone who had no intentions of getting mixed up in the first place." Luna ignored any other forms of reasoning with her sister and instead turned back to their crooked negotiators. "Do we have a deal?" Each Unicorn looked to one another in an unspoken form of questioning before nodding their heads.

"You have a deal, Spell secure her so we can get this moving." Spell pulled out his own dagger as Luna walked forward and let him set he knife gently against her throat as Key and Silver untied and ungagged Rarity and Sweetie Belle before letting them go. The two mares race into the crowd before embracing each other in tears of relief. Celestia was still unsure about this and was afraid of what would actually happen once they were out of the town.

"Are you really sure about this Luna."

"Yes, besides, you forget who we locked in the dungeon and if you've noticed Discord isn't with us." Celestia could only smile slyly at her sister's devious plan. She still didn't approve of this, but she knew that her life was under safe watch.

"Checkmate."

"Dammit Discord, you know you're a better strategist than I am."

"But of course, I just wanted to make your drab stay here a little less boring." Living up to his word Discord made Feral's time in his cell more enjoyable, even if he had now entered a losing streak of fourteen.

"Well you've done well so far, but how about we play a game more of chance than skill." Discord opened his mouth to question on what game he was speaking of in particular when shouts of orders could be heard coming from the other side of the dungeon door. "What…is that?" They both went quiet as they concentrated on getting what was being verbally thrown around the Royal Guard.

"C'mon…hurry to…situation!"

"How…hostages…they have…?"

"They…two…Luna…places with…" With what he got from the small excerpts of dialogue his expression went stone cold.

"Discord, I'm going to need you to take these shackles off of me now." Discord tried his best to smile although it was a bit uneasy.

"Now Feral, I'm pretty sure it's something that they can handle. They've grown up a lot since you've been gone and have learned many things over the years."

"Discord, I know that they have grown up while I was gone, but that doesn't change the fact that I am one of her Royal Guard. Now I am needed and I need you to get me out of these cuffs. If you don't you already know that I'll find my own way out." Discord sighed in defeat and snapped his fingers, releasing Feral from his imprisonment. The now freed stallion stood up and quickly kicked the cell door off of its hinges and calmly walked through. "Come on, we need to get to Ponyville and you can help me with getting there faster." Feral charged the dungeon door also knocking it off the wall and took a left down the hall, passing multiple stunned guards that watched him past them. The guards were quick to recover from their stupor and organize a chase after the now free convict.

"Catch him, he might be an accomplice of the ones holding Princess Luna hostage." That answered Feral's suspicions and fueled his anger. Speeding up Feral made no attempt at stopping as he headed for the stained glass window at the end of the hallway. The guards stared dumbly as they watched the death wishing stallion break through the window head first.

"Discord, can I get some assistance please?" With the call of the Draconequus's name, a pair of temporary Pegasus wings sprouted from his back. He pulled his wings to his body and dived down into the city of Canterlot. Nopony could tell what the black and green streak was as Feral rocketed down the streets of Canterlot. Feral pulled up as the wings slowly disintegrated and left him airborne. He dropped down onto a building below him and looked over the edge to find that he had made it all the way to the train station. Looking over the train station he could barely see the colorful layout of Ponyville. "Discord, can you please give me a telescope?" Discord appeared before him dressed as a pirate with a spyglass to his right eye.

"I don't believe you'll like what you see." Feral took hold of the spyglass presented to him and took a glance at what Discord had discovered. When he found his point of interest he felt his blood freeze and his heart stop. Feral watched as a group of three Unicorns were slowly backing up to the Everfree Forest with rather calm looking Luna, a knife pressed against her throat by the hold of magic. Feral collapsed the spyglass and handed back to Discord. The stallion looked around the roof and any other surroundings for anyway to possibly get to the town faster. Looking to his left he saw something that gave him one the most insane ideas he would probably have in his entire life.

"I know I'm being a bit selfish, but could you do me one more favor Discord." Discord was a little frighten at what exactly it was the stallion had rushing through his mind as he saw the face splitting grin that slowly formed on his lips.

"That depends…what exactly do you want?"

"It's simple really; just turn this chimney into a cannon." Discord slapped himself in the face as Feral kept on with stupid grin.

"You know what, if it was anypony else I would reconsider it, but since it's you I won't even bother with an argument." With those words he snapped his finger and the chimney reconstructed into a cannon that Feral was way too anxious to jump into. The cannon tipped over as it was targeted towards Ponyville. Discord stood over the fuse with a torch in hand and leotard wrapped around his shoulder.

"Are you ready for this Feral?"

"You and I both know that's a stupid question." With no further question, Discord blew out the torch and took hold of the fuse of the cannon and yanked it back, sending Feral flying towards Ponyville. Discord cupped both of his hands to his mouth and looked up into the sky.

"Four!"

Key smirked to himself as he, Spell, and Silver kept getting closer to the Everfree Forest with every passing second. This wasn't how they wanted to go about things, but it was they only available way out. He inwardly chuckled at the expression on Celestia's face as she looked on, utterly powerless to help her sister. It was still unbelievable, even by looking at the proof in front of them, that they had royalty in their hooves. Now all they had to do was pass through the underbrush of the forest and they were home free.

"Four!"

At the sound of an echoing voice, Key looked up only to catch the sight of a black and green blur close to impacting him. Before impact he felt as if time was being slowed as he saw some while stallion he had never seen before in the crowd. Key watched as the stallion was in the middle of a frontwards flip bringing a bladed hoof closer to his skull as the inescapable pain was only hindered. "You fucked with the wrong mare my friend." Key's eyes slowly widened as the blade met its target and time sped up, Feral once again becoming a blur and sliding across the soil. Silver and Spell watched as the stallion slid past them as Feral bounced back into the air and spun with the momentum gained from cannon fire, catching Silver with his tail and Spell with his mane. Both Unicorns were stunned at the feeling of the fibers brushing along their face. Looking behind them they watched the stallion finally skid to a halt, his back to the thieves. Silver stepped forward, a look of uncertainty and irritation lining his eyes.

"If I were you pal, I would get back in line. We aren't afraid to somethi-" Silver suddenly dropped to the ground, a large gash splitting diagonally across his throat and dismembering his left hoof pooling large quantities of blood around his corpse. Spell stepped back and turned to Key with nothing but unimaginable fear quivering on his lips.

"Key quick, kill her so we ca-" He stopped and screamed out in immeasurable pain as his scalp was engraved with a deep horizontal cut, before falling to the ground in silence. Key did nothing but stare out into the crowd of ponies that watched as some unknown pony appeared from the sky. The magical aura around the knife dissipated and left a resounding thump echo through the silent crowd. Key back out as he kept mumbling some incoherent word, slowly getting louder the more he backed up.

"M-m-m-monster." Key's head fell back as only a small bit of the skin around his neck kept it from falling off his shoulder and leaving the body to fall limp. The crowd was frozen as they tried to assess who or what this stallion was and his reasons for killing the Unicorns. Feral turned around and slowly made his way to Luna as not to startle her. Everypony just watched each one wanting to jump in and keep him away from their Princess, to tell him not to get any closer to her, yet none of them had the gal. Luna flinched as she felt a pair of hooves embrace her and a soft nuzzle into her mane.

"It's okay Luna, their gone now." Her fear turned into a smile as she broke the embrace only to turn around and hug Feral, tears running down her cheeks. He stayed silent and let Luna calm herself in his hold. Feral waited as her sobs slowly turned into the occasional hiccup and racking of the shoulders.

"I was so afraid; even though I was so confident in you coming I was still scared."

"It's okay to be afraid especially when in the position you were in. You were brave though when you switched places with the original captives. You've grown up a lot in years we've been apart and I'm glad to see it was for the better." They were interrupted by Celestia who joined the three in a group hug.

"Please Luna; don't ever scare me like that again." Luna could only giggle at the overprotective nature of her sister.

"No promises sister." All three broke off leaving Feral sitting in his haunches in front of the two Princesses.

"So what happens now?" Celestia looked behind the stallion to find the aftermath of his protection.

"First we will give these bodies a burial, and then we will have to talk about what will happen to you next." Feral nodded as he sat back into his weird cross hooved position and rested his head on a hoof.

"Today has been so hectic, I haven't even aged and I feel like I'm getting to old for this." At the sound of hearing some hoofsteps he looked up to find the same six mares that had accompanied him to the castle. Most of them looked as if they were frightened of him if Fluttershy trying to disappear from his vision completely being any hint, but Twilight looked a little more curious. Before anything could be said Feral felt a sudden weight push him back as he felt a pair of hooves wrap around his neck. He was stunned as he witnessed the Unicorn designer bawl her eyes out on his coat.

"Thank you so much for saving Luna!" Feral had no idea how to handle the situation so just settled with slowly patting her head.

"You're…welcome?" Had no time to react as she quickly let go of him and proceeded to wrap Luna in the same death grip.

"And thank you Luna, for not only saving me but for also saving my sister." Luna looked down at Rarity with a small smile.

"You are welcome, it is my duty as a ruler to make sure that my subjects are safe and out of harm's way." Feral just shook his head at the white Unicorn's antics as he still had not gotten a handle on the all of the mare's personalities.

"Feral," The stallion looked up to not only find the six mares, but the entire crowd of Ponyville stacked around him, "what exactly are you?" A defeated sigh escaped his lips as he saw this coming. If he was right, the times now never needed any form of battle and the title of warrior had withered away with the passing time. Everyone was so innocent and he no doubt fractured a piece of that with his display of swordplay.

"I am Feral just like I told you when we first met. What I didn't tell you was that I am the very first pony that had been initiated into a Royal Guard that was commanded by both Luna and Celestia. I had become somewhat of a bodyguard to them both, so they created the only guard division that nopony besides me has ever been a part of known as 'The Eclipse'. I was under orders by both Princesses and watched over them. I am somewhat the Captain over the other guard, the elite, and they have given me the right to be the only one to ever be part of the division unless I find somepony fit to join. That is who I am and who I will be when I leave this world." Everypony around him was left with the apparent face of shock at the news of hearing about his connection to the Princesses. While the six mares had already knew about his connection, the part about him being above all other guards was surprising. Now they were curious about the reasons why he was inducted into such a high class version of the Royal Guard.

"Indeed this is true, and it doesn't seem that you have lost your touch even after all of these years." Feral smiled as he watched Celestia and Luna come up on either side of him.

"Well I did kind of have a good bit of free time on my hooves."

"And you didn't waste it; I would even say that you are more honed than you were when we first knighted you."

"Flattery, come now Tia we aren't in some council meeting with a noble. You know how I am, I don't enjoy sitting around doing nothing and if there is any room for improvement than I'll gladly take it."

"I can tell because last I recall we left you cuffed in a cell so you wouldn't do something like this."

"I put all of the blame on Discord."

"Now now, don't go throwing anything on me!" The Draconequus appeared before the ponies in a flash of light, slightly leaning back as he levitated with each flap of his wings. "It was your stupid idea of wanting to get shot out of the cannon. The cell thing, well you already told me that you would have found your own way out." Celestia and Luna both raised a brow to that statement.

"A cannon?/Surely you jest."

"No kidding did you not see how fast he was going when he got here. I shot him from a chimney cannon all the way from Canterlot! Once he heard the guards talking about the hostage situation and how it involved Luna, the damn demon was unleashed and I was sorry for the poor bastard who thought that move was a smart idea." Luna brought Feral in for one more hug, nuzzling his messy mane.

"I'm glad to see that nothing about you has changed."

"Same here." Feral stood up and turned to Celestia, a more serious expression melting away his natural cheer. "So what about my punishment?"

"Well seeing that keeping you in a cell has no effect I'm letting you out. Instead I'll have you stationed here in Ponyville under the eyes of some of mine and Luna's guard. You will be staying with Twilight for the time being so that she may send me messages on your progress and behavior." The white stallion smiled and enthusiastically pumped a hoof in the air.

"Finally, you have no idea how much I've wanted to explore the place since I first got here." Celestia turned to her student and the other element wielders, a smirk plastered to her lips.

"Do take care of him Twilight, he may be a grown stallion but he tends to act rather childish. You will also find him to be a handful to go along with that. Although always remember that if you may have a problem to try and go to him first. While he may not look it, he has gotten me and Luna through some tough decisions in life and he will be a great asset to you and you friends." Twilight had the smile of somepony who had hit the lottery. She would actually get to further analyze the one stallion that had eluded her questions of curiosity. And since he was going to be staying in Ponyville she could devote all of her time to looking into this.

"I won't let you down Princess."

I have nothing to say so I hope this chapter gave you some explanation. Love you guys!

Embodiment of Darkness


	3. Old Friends, New Changes

Banishment of the First

[Disclaimer] Repeating myself is getting tiresome so you can just go back and look at the disclaimer on the last two chapters. So I've been surfing Fanfiction for a good bit of years and I've seen some things that get on my nerves and help me strive to make my stories as good as they can be to the best of my ability. One thing would be how some people just quit stories because the story hasn't gotten a lot of attention or reviews. Seeing that pisses me off because the three of my stories don't have an ass load of views or reviews and yet I still plan to continue them from start to finish. Another would be the amount of words put in the story with the chapters that have been uploaded. When I read a story, I want my read to last for a while not a few minutes, especially if the story isn't a one shot. I'm not calling them lazy because they may have things that get in the way of them writing. I just think it tells others that you're not enthusiastic about putting time into a story. I don't know, maybe it's just me and others don't think the same as me so I'll just stop before I piss someone off. Hope you like the chapter.

Chapter 3 – Old Friends, New Changes

The time Feral had spent in Ponyville after that little accident with the Princesses had been a rather enjoyable learning experience for him. It seemed that a good bit of time had passed and things had become a lot friendlier since he had become a warrior. Violence was not as big as it used to be, but he thought that was because he was in a small remote town so it was never one to engage in violent activity. He had also gotten to learn about the bearers of the Elements personally and had learned that they were all rather strange but easy to get along with. This town had a history of harboring some of the more quirky ponies and it gave it that uplifting feeling that he enjoyed about the town. He had mostly been bombarded with questions by Twilight the day after he had been ordered to settle down in her home. She was one who wanted to learn everything new that came before her so he indulged her in his history. She seemed to become flabbergasted when he would explain parts in which the Princess and mentor she thought of so highly was acting like any regular immature filly. He not only got a few chuckles, but also some tinted cheeks and an aggravated glare every time. Rainbow Dash was the same as Twilight, but she mostly wanted to hear about the adventures and battles he had while being the bodyguard of both Princesses. She was always listening and paying close attention as he weaved his tales, which always surprised her friends as they had never seen her sit still for that long. He was able to have small snippets of conversation with Fluttershy because she was still a little intimidated with the sheer size of the stallion. Although whenever he could get her to talk it was always enjoyable to him. She was understanding and not as judgmental as most and he always enjoyed watching her care for the animals even if they seemed to dislike his presence. Rarity was a bit more…difficult…to get along with. He was always taken back by how she openly insulted his looks. He knew he wasn't dressed fancily or regal, hell he didn't have any clothes at all. He was a rugged pony and had to learn to ways of the wild and was used to living in the open air during any time of the year. He had no time for looking all pretty for the occasion when he was fighting for his life. When he had confronted her about this he had one hell of a show to watch. She went into some insane overdramatic theatrical show of tears and regret as she kept on apologizing while he tried to calm her down. After that he had always watched his way he worded things around the fashion goddess. Applejack and him hit off as soon as she saw how hardworking and adept he was when it came to manual labor. She would always ask him to help her out if they were set back in their work and he would always happily lend a hoof. Pinkie Pie had been an entirely different experience for the battle pony. She had always found a way to make him feel better if he was having a bad day. He didn't know how, but she was able to work her magic of spreading smiles everywhere she went. He had to admit that he was glad Celestia had punished him with living down here for the time being. She even gave him his own house a few days after he moved in with Twilight, much to the disappointment of the lavender Unicorn. The guards were a bit of a bother as he was always given one to travel around town with, and the three more that stood guard at his home. Other than that, things were rolling along pretty well except for trying to pry Twilight off of him after one of their learning sessions.

"Come on, don't leave just yet! There's so much more to learn!" The large stallion was currently comically walking out of Twilights home with said Unicorn wrapped around one of his massive hooves. It was always fun to him to see this side of Twilight as she was always so serious and organized, but he actually had somewhere to go at the moment so he had no time for games."

"Twilight you know that we will have another session soon, but I have to get to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and Big Macintosh have gotten a bit backed up in work and I told them I would help them get back on track. So could you pleases get off of my hoof and let me go?" The mare grudgingly removed herself from his hoof and looked up to him with big teary eyes.

"You promise?" He had to chuckle at how adorable she looked when she wanted to have a chance at learning anything knew. That was one thing he liked about all six of the mares in particular. There was always one unique thing about them that he enjoyed when he was with them.

"Yes I promise, now I must be off before I'm late." Feral ruffled her mane before taking off in the direction of the farm. As he galloped in the dirt road to the apple orchard, he kept glancing behind his back from time to time. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he was being followed and looked from the clouds to the bushes every time. It wasn't until he could see the gate in sight did his instincts act up and had him quickly jump in the air in a spinning motion. He heard something pop as it hit the ground while in mid spin he intercepted another one of the objects that were hurled at him, before entering one more spin and returned it to the cloud above him. The object made contact with something as he touched down and watched as a blue mare fell from the clouds and landed on the ground where he heard two grunts instead of one. Walking over to the crash site he found one Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie in a jumbled mess of limbs. "Might I ask what it is you're doing?" Rainbow Dash quickly shot up with stars in her eyes as she stared at the stallion.

"Wondering just how you became so awesome." Feral gave the mare an awkward smile as he felt uncomfortable under the unblinking stare.

"Staying in school and eating my vegetables. How about you Pinkie, can you explain it better." The hyperactive mare rapidly bounced in place with that ever present smeared across her face.

"Me and Dashie here were just having some fun with a few harmless pranks." Feral smiled at how straightforward the mare was and glad to know such an honest bunch.

"Well that's fine, just promise you won't go overboard. And please whatever you do, don't try and prank Fluttershy." He only got a split second serious face from Pinkie and a salute before she took hold of Rainbow Dash and they took off once more. Shaking his head at the nonsense he made his way through the gate and headed towards the large portion of land that held all of the apple trees. When he arrived he found the country mare already hard at work with running between the many trees and dropping the apples in two of three bucks. She stopped for a minute to wipe away the sweat when she spotted him and waved him over. He quickly obliged and sat in front of the earth pony in seconds.

"Glad you could make it Feral, good to know I can depend on you."

"Anything for a friend Applejack." She gave him a smile and pointed towards the other small half of the apple trees she was working on.

"I thought that we can get these trees bucked and call it a day. Big Mac is on the other side getting some bucking done. If we get these here apples then we should be caught back up on our work." Feral examined the somewhat large amount of trees that were in the field. He was used to this kind of work and wouldn't complain on how hard it was seeing as this was a walk in the park compared to his exercise routine.

"Very well, let us get started so we can get done faster."

"Now that's what I like to here." They two earth ponies got to work and were quickly taking out the trees in record time. One reason Applejack was glad to have him work was because of his speed and strength. Not only could he speedily move from tree to tree, but also knock the apples down in a single buck! She had only known that Big Mac could do that and she could as well on certain occasions here and there, but this stallion was brushing through the work as if he had worked on their farm all of his life. Sure it was odd and she had questions about it, but the stallion was getting his work done quick and honestly and she couldn't argue with such a hard worker. It wasn't long before they had finished and had Big Mac join the two as he had finished at about the same time because of his initial head start. The two stallions knocked hooves as they were too out of breath to utter a word. The two had become a good type of pals as Feral liked Big Mac's quiet nature. Feral was all down for the mares, but sometimes silence is something you need to enjoy for a while. Now that didn't mean the big stallion didn't like to talk. Despite what some thought, he was a rather funny and good natured person to hang around. They had even gotten a few weird stares when they were founds speaking and laughing in the middle of town. Feral stood up with his one last heave and turned to bow to Applejack.

"I thank you for letting me help you. I will see you two later." He was about to turn around when he was hit in the chest with a bag that quickly sunk to the ground. Confused Feral picked the bag up and heard a small jingle of metal. He looked up to Applejack with a stern glare and threw it back at her. "I'm not taking that." She put on the same glare and tossed the bag back at him.

"You worked here and you're not leaving without being paid." Feral let out a sigh of defeat before picking the bag up off the ground.

"Fine, if it'll make you happy." Strangely he turned around and took off in a full sprint towards the town.

"I don't think I'll ever understand that stallion." Applejack took off her hat to wipe away a few stray beads of sweat when she looked confusedly down to the ground at the sound of falling metal to find a small pile of bits. "Oh that son of a…"

"Not around the family sis."

Feral slowly walked through the middle of Ponyville. If he knew right, then he should probably see Applejack again tomorrow where she would try and force him to take the money she owed him. That mare was more stubborn than Celestia when she was in one of her moods. He just kept walking and was left with observing just what the small town had. There were multiple stalls lining the streets and also miscellaneous stores dotted here and there. He was enjoying the sights before his instincts kicked in once more and he quickly performed two backwards somersaults that finished with a small aerial flip, dodging a large quantity of rainbow colored paint that fell from the sky. "Darn, I thought we would have gotten you with that one for sure." He looked up to once again find Rainbow Dash, but not Pinkie Pie. Instead she was accompanied by a female Gryphon. Just like any Gryphon, she had the head, talons, wings, and beak of an eagle. Her body, back two paws, and tail were like that of a lion. The lion portion of her body was brown with the end of her tail having a tuft of fur at the end of it. The eagle portion left her with a white feathered head and a yellow beak and claws. Her head had three feathers that came out and hung over her face, each feather being tipped off in a dark purple, and two that swooped upwards of the back half. She had a pair of golden eyes that were surround by purple circles that had three points that went off towards the two swooped back feathers. Both the Gryphon and Rainbow Dash touched down where Dash shot towards Feral and the Gryphon stood back and observed the stallion. "One day I'm going to get you somehow." Feral gave her a disbelieving looked and a small chuckle.

"I highly doubt that will happen. So what happened to Pinkie Pie and who's the Gryphon?"

"Oh yeah, this is Gilda and she's a friend from flight school that came to visit me. As for Pinkie I'm not sure, I keep seeing her, but then she just disappears. I thought it was just a Pinkie thing and left it at that." Feral gave her a nod before looking up and examining the new citizen of Ponyville.

"It's been a while since I've seen a Gryphon, well Ms. Gilda how are you?" The Gryphon just scoffed at the pony who tried to be polite to her.

"Please, I don't associate myself with dweebs such as yourself."

"Oh, and the bitch comes out. That was honestly faster than I had thought." Gilda jumped into Feral's face and balled up a talon.

"Care to say that again?"

"Sorry, but I would rather avoid hitting a women no matter how much of a bitch she is. It is very ungentlecoltly off me to fall so low." Gilda raised her fist and brought it forward to punch the stallion, only to have it stopped by that same stallion. "Calm down, we can act like civilized ponies and Gryphons right? No need to bring any violence into this." Gilda withdrew her claw before lifting herself into the air.

"I'll be watching you and we will settle this." Feral threw her a fake smile and waved his hoof at her.

"Just so long as you're not being a bitch." The Gryphon flew off in unbridled rage as she shot through the clouds. As soon as she was gone, Feral quickly ducked a rather hard buck from the Pegasus that had accompanied the pain in the ass Gryphon.

"That wasn't cool dude. I thought you were a pretty nice stallion, but picking on my friend isn't cool." The stallion heard her but chose to look as he ignored her as he walked away with a few final words.

"There's still a whole day ahead of us. Let us see which one of us was the jerk here."

Feral continued on with his trot through the town, keeping an eye on the sky for any sign of that prissy little featherhead. With his attention on something entirely different, he was surprised when he was suddenly jerked inside one of the many stores around him. When he looked around he found that he had somehow ended up in Rarity's boutique and found the white Unicorn at her sowing machine. She didn't look as if she was acknowledging his presence as she levitated some fabric above her and examined it. "I'm terribly sorry dear, but there was something I wanted to ask you and I was so eager that I acted so immature. I do hope you can forgive me for my brash behavior." With the experiences he had while in Rarity's shop, there was only thing Feral had in his mind.

"Help me, I'm being held against my will and forced to dress like a mare!"

"Now please don't act like that. I know that your last few visits here were not pleasant bu-"

"And she's trying to come on to me!" That little comment got him a hoof across the face with which he returned a small smirk. "A little too far?" The little glare that he got from the mare was all he needed for confirmation. "So what is it that I may help you with my fair lady?"

"Much better, I would like you to spend some time with my dear sister Sweetie Belle. I know she has taken a bit of a liking to you and she hasn't been in town for very long so I would like to ask if you would show her around." Sweetie Belle, the filly was an almost exact opposite of what Rarity was entirely. While she dabbled in making clothing, she tended to act less ladylike in times and was a lot less overdramatic. While he liked that she didn't act all fancy like Rarity, he would correct any errors she had in manners so she would still grow into a respecting mare. She had somehow come to look up to and respect him in some way that he was clueless about. Her other friends, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, seemed a bit cautious of him when he was around. Like Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle wanted to learn more and more about him whenever they were together. He was unsure just what kind of relationship was between them, but he would put his bits on somewhat of a sibling figure.

"That seems fine to mine, I have nothing to do at the moment so I'm game." The mare gave him a grateful smile at hearing his cooperation.

"Sweetie Belle, could you please come down here?" The yell was followed by the slow descending clops as they both watched a small white filly enter the room. When she looked to her sister, she became confused when seeing the stallion seemingly cowering in a corner before her sister.

"Hello Mr. Feral, what is it you called more for sister?"

"I was just talking to Feral here and he has agreed to show you around the town so you're not locked inside all day." When she heard that the filly's face lit up instantaneously.

"Really?"

"Indeed, now get going you two. There is a whole day ahead of you and you should not waist a single moment." With that, Rarity quickly ushered them out the door and somewhat rudely shut it in their face. Feral looked behind him to find that Sweetie Belle had climbed up on his back.

"Your sister is weird." Sweetie Belle stared at the stallion with a confused eye.

"And you're not?" The stallion puffed out his cheeks before turning away and trotting into town, leaving the filly with an amused smile pasted to her lips.

"All of you mares are so cruel."

One cloud after another dispersed as Gilda unleashed her rage upon the sky. She couldn't believe the audacity that stallion had to her of all people a bitch. There was no way she was just going to let him get away with such a thing. She was not going to have a repeat of flight school and go soft. No, he was going to pay for those words and she would make sure of that. Gilda looked back down to the town of Ponyville before grinning. Before her little plan of revenge she would need to relieve some stress.

"Do you see her anywhere Apple Bloom?"

"Not at the moment Scootaloo." The two fillies had been scouring the entire town looking for the third of their party, but couldn't seem to find her. They were also looking for the newest stallion in town. The two knew that if they couldn't find Sweetie Belle alone then she would most likely be with Feral. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were a bit distant, but they knew that Sweetie Belle seemed to like him for some odd reason and had been hanging out with him for a while. The two were interrupted in their search when they heard a quick flapping of wings followed by some creature touching down. Turning around they were met with a menacing Gryphon they had yet to meet before.

"Hello meat, care to entertain me for a while?"

"And you're saying they called you to get rid of it."

"Sounds weird huh, but you mares are all so weird. Freaking out over a worm touching your coat, I mean seriously?" Sweetie Belle reeled back in astonishment at the accusation that Feral had put out.

"Hey now, you can't go and say that we're all like that. My sister yes, but someone like me isn't going to freak out over something so insignificant." Feral looked back to the filly with a small smirk.

"That's good to hear. No offense, but I think Rarity can be a little overdramatic at times."

"You're preaching to the choir." Their conversation was interrupted though when Feral suddenly felt two masses collide with his front hooves. Looking down Feral found two fillies on the ground stunned and murmuring slurred sentences.

"Apple Bloom, Scootaloo?" The fillies raised themselves to a sitting position, slowly rubbing the tops of their heads. At the sound of their names they looked up to find the one stallion they were looking for, but weren't too eager to see. Forgetting what they initially wanted to see him for the two quickly turned around, only to freeze in fear at what they were to return to should they retreat. Bowing their heads in defeat they turned back to the now confused Feral. "Might I ask what it is you're doing?" Apple Bloom back away. Leaving a frantic looking Scootaloo to answer the question. Sighing in defeat the filly stepped forward.

"First, have you see Sweetie Belle? We've been looking all over for her." Turning to his side, he revealed to filly in question that was still perched on his back. The white Unicorn looked surprised before giving them both a wave of her hoof.

"What's up girls?" Sweetie Belle hopped off of the stallion's back and was instantly tackled by her two friends. Apple Bloom stepped back and used her hoof to wipe away a nonexistent sweat.

"I thought we were mincemeat for sure before we ran into you two." Feral crouched down to the filly's eye level and raise a questioning eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"So that's where I misplaced my toys." Feral looked up and instantly wished he hadn't. A frown abducted his calm expression as he watched that bitch of a Gryphon making her way over to them. "And would you look at this, they partied up with a useless excuse of a stallion." Sweetie Belle didn't take too kindly to the insult the Gryphon was implying to the one she looked up to and made her way to the Gryphon with haste.

"I don't know who you are, but you can't just go about calling my friends whatever you want." Gilda looked down at the filly with a bored eye before lifting a claw and smacking Sweetie Belle off to the side, leaving the poor filly to be harshly introduced to a nearby merchant stall.

"Maybe that will teach you not to speak when grown u-" The Gryphon was cut off by a harsh metal hoof that sent her flying into the side of a nearby building and leaving a nice imprint along the wall. Her body slowly peeled itself off the wall and gravity left her kissing the sweet ground below. Propping herself up on her elbows, Gilda spat out a few droplets of blood and glared up at the stallion that was a good 20 or so feet away from her and standing in the spot she previously was. She was surprised at his stature since she had never seen any pony stand so balanced on their back hooves, but looking into his eyes left her frozen in an indescribable fear. When she saw him earlier today all she saw was a bit of frustration in his eyes, but now it was different. This was hatred, pure and uncontrollable. She had always tried to act tough and was pretty successful with it, but this stallion was something she had never seen before. She wasn't a stranger to fear and this was something that wasn't o be taken lightly.

"Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, I need you to take Sweetie Belle to Fluttershy to make sure she's okay." The fillies were quick to respond and picked up their friend and made a break for it. Gilda saw this and attempted to stop the three from getting away only to be put back in the wall by an armored kick. Gilda could feel the bruising adding on as she slid down to the ground. She couldn't tell if he was holding back or giving it all he had and the thought scared her endlessly. She stared at Feral as he made his way over. She was broken without a chance of escape and no one to help her, not even Dash. Tears jerked at the sides of her eyes as she was forced to remember this feeling. Just like flight school, it was happening just as it had back at school. She couldn't take this, not again, she wouldn't let herself be weak! The tears poured as she looked up at the stallion that was now towering over her, taller than before since he was on his hind hooves. His face was motionless, not a care for what he was doing at the moment. "What are you crying for? You go and hurt a child for no reason and you want to sit here and spill tears in front of me. They had nothing to do with the squabble between us, and bringing them into this was a hefty mistake to make. I don't enjoy hurting women if I can avoid it, but I also don't enjoy the weak getting picked on by someone twice their size." Gilda was reduced to nothing but a ball of tears, curled up in a ball and openly sobbing. The onlookers felt bad for the Gryphon, but they had also seen what she done and said. While they weren't ones to enjoy violence, they had seen the extent of not only Feral's power, but also his heart. They knew that he wouldn't do anything drastic and would leave her at what she was now. They were correct as Feral let out a sigh and began to bend down to the fallen Gryphon. "Come on, I'll get you to a doc-" He was cut off and recoiled back as Gilda unleashed an ear piercing scream when he put out a hoof to help her up. Feral ran a hoof through his mane, now he had gone and caused her a little too much shock. The best thing he could do at the moment is leave her to calm down. Feral turned around and began to walk off before stopping before the citizens. "Can I ask you all to make sure that once she has calmed down that she find either Fluttershy and be shown to a hospital?" He got a round of nods and continued on with his trot.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING ASSHOLE?!" Feral was quick to react as he stood back up on his hind hooves, avoiding a clash with the rainbow blur that shot along the ground and skidded to a halt a few feet away from him. Feral dropped back to all fours, but didn't move as the rainbow Pegasus galloped over to him and did her best to get face to face with the stallion. "Just because you're some big and bad stallion means you can go and pick on those smaller than you?" Feral just gave her a blank stare, choosing not to answer with anything that might fuel the fire. This had the opposite affect and further irritated the mare even more. "What, so now you think you're too good to talk to someone lower than you? Is that it?" The stallion kept his vigil and let Rainbow Dash continue with her onslaught of words. Instead of words though, he got the angered hoof of the mare leaving a nice bruise on his cheek. The Pegasus was now crying as she walked past Feral and moved to pick up the injured Gilda. The stallion did nothing, not even turn around, as Rainbow Dash picked up the Gryphon and began to make off with her, but not without a few final words. "I don't ever want to see a monster like you come close to any of my friends. Consider anything I have to do with you over and done with." One of the bystanders made a move to defend the falsely accused, but Feral shut her up with a wave of his hoof before she could speak. Rainbow Dash began to make her way over to Fluttershy's house so that she could get some first aid from the knowledgeable Pegasus. "And that whole thing about seeing who was a jerk, thanks for proving me right." Feral began to once again move, but at a much slower pace. Everypony watched the stallion with sorrowful eyes, saddened by the fact that he wouldn't accept by their help so that he could be proven innocent. What everypony besides the Pegasus that inflicted it saw as he slugged off were the tears slowly dripping off of his emotionless face.

"Please do try and eat more slowly. If you go to fast you're going to make yourself sick." Fluttershy walked around the many animals that were around her home as she examined that they were eating healthfully and getting the nutrition they needed.

"FLUTTERSHY!" The timid mare was startled by the sudden cry as she was quick to take shelter behind a bear that she had just recently fed. Peeking around the animal she witnessed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rushing as fast as they could towards her home.

"Oh, hello girls. How may I help you?" She was shocked though when she saw an unconscious Sweetie Belle hoisted across both of the fillies backs. Seeing this instantly unlocked the motherly care giver with all knowledge and assertiveness she needed to get the job done. "Quickly, get her inside and set on my couch. I'll get the herbs and medicines to check and nurse her should there be anything serious. The two fillies did as told and made their way inside and set their friend down on the couch with such care you'd think Sweetie Belle was porcelain. Just as they had finished that, Fluttershy entered the room and wasted no time in examining the young mare for any serious or life threatening injuries. After a few moments she didn't find anything too serious, but was surprised to find three scratches on her right cheek. There was slight bleeding, but nothing a quick application of salve and a bandage didn't fix in no time. When she was sure nothing else was a danger to Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy sat back with a relaxing sigh and turned to the other two fillies. "Could you two explain to me exactly what happened?" Both of them were quick to jump into answering, but the two of them yelling frantically with details Fluttershy couldn't make out was making it difficult to figure out what it was that had them so hyped up. Fluttershy, surprisingly, shoved a hoof in both of their mouths and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay, when I remove my hooves I want Apple Bloom to tell me what happened and I want it done in a slow and calm manner. Am I clear?" She got a nod from both of them and slowly removed her hooves to let them speak. Apple Bloom repeated what Fluttershy had done and took a deep breath to calm her senses.

"Okay, we were in Ponyville looking for Sweetie Belle so that we could go crusading again to try and find our Cutie Marks. Well we also decided to look for Feral, that new pony in town, because Sweetie Belle kind of looks up to him and has been hanging out with him lately. While we were looking for her, this weird looking Eagle-Lion-Bird think came out of nowhere and started chasing us. We ran, and after a while we ended up bumping into Feral who had Sweetie Belle with him. When we explained why we were running the thing showed up again and started spouting pretty mean things about Feral. Sure we don't completely trust him because of how big he is, but even we aren't that cruel. Anyways, when Sweetie Belle heard this she stepped forward and told the Bird to stop. When she said that the Bird hit her and set her tumbling into a cart. When she did this though, Feral got really angry and punched the Bird into a building. After that, he told us to bring Sweetie Belle to you and we don't know what could have happened since then." Fluttershy was left aghast by the sudden flow of new information. She had come to know the more gentle side of Feral since he had come to stay inside the town. He could be very gentle, despite his size, and was one of the few that she didn't become shy around. Hearing that he had harmed another individual startled her, but also intrigued her. She had learned that he would not attack unless provoked or others got forced into the crossfire. Looking at Sweetie Belle she could give a guess at what happened. She was told by the filly herself how much she admired the stallion and found it kind of cute how Sweetie Belle put him in such a light. This creature, however, was a different story. She was unsure just what it was, but she had a feeling that she would find out soon enough. The sudden sound of hooves slamming against her door took her away from the thoughts and she made her way to the door. When she opened the door, she was shocked to find a frantic looking Rainbow Dash with a pretty beat up looking Gryphon. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo saw who was at the door and picked Sweetie Belle up and carefully set her on their back and made their way put the back door while everypony wasn't looking.

"Rainbow Dash, what's wrong with you friend?"

"Long story, but could you look her over and help her out. She's pretty beat up."

"Yes, bring her in and set her on the couch next too-" When Fluttershy turned around she found that the three fillies had left. "Maybe she woke up and they all left, oh well. Just set her down on the couch." Rainbow Dash followed her advice and set her down, leaving Fluttershy to work her magic. After almost an hour, Fluttershy was finally finished with bandaging up the wounded Gryphon. "There that should do it. She will need to be careful with her injuries for now. There was some bruising, but it was only minor, could have been extremely worse." Rainbow Dash carefully picked up Gilda and positioned the Gryphon on her back in a way that made her wings still useable.

"Thank you Fluttershy, I'll take her to my home so she can rest." The yellow Pegasus nodded and watched as her rainbow friend took off at a slower place towards her cloud home. Once they were gone Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin and looked around her house.

"I'm curious as to where those other three ran off to though."

Sweetie Belle slowly rubbed a hoof on her head as she felt a splitting headache come along. What happened to her? She remembered Feral, her friends, a weird bird thing, and then everything was blank. As her senses came back to her she noticed that she moving without her actually moving. Opening her eyes she found the sky slowly moving along with whatever was below her. Looking to her side she found two ponies that could hopefully answer some questions. "Apple Bloom. Scootaloo…what happened?" Both fillies stopped and turned their heads in delight as they found their friend finally awakening. They both set Sweetie Belle gently back on the ground before Scootaloo brought her in for a hug.

"You had me worried there for a minute. You took a good blow back there." Hearing that had Sweetie Belle raising her brow in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Apple Bloom jumped in her face, surprised that she could forget something like what had happened to her.

"You mean you don't remember? That bird creature gave you quite smack across the face. You got knocked out when you hit the cart." The white Unicorn rubbed her cheek trying to remember before she ran her hoof over the bandage and suddenly everything hit her. She had tried to make that weird bird stop calling Feral names and apologize when she was swatted to the side.

"What happened after that?" As Scootaloo stepped forward again she had a glint of admiration and excitement passing through her eyes.

"It was so awesome! As soon as he saw you get hurt, his brotherly instincts or something kicked in and he kicked that bird right into the wall. It even left an imprint of its body! Too bad we couldn't see more, he sent us off to take you to Fluttershy's house to make sure you were okay. I'll tell you one thing. Feral seems scary to me, but the look in his eyes when she put her claw on you was something I would never want to be on the other end of." Hearing that brought a smile to Sweetie Belle's face. She knew that everypony else could see that she looked up to him like an older brother, and she wouldn't deny it. They would always hang out and he was someone she could talk to and work out a few of her problems if she needed the help. She still loved her sister, but she could be a bit overdramatic when it came to some of the things she wanted help with. Everypony thought that he was scary, but she quickly found out that he was sweeter than at first glance. He would always correct her if she was in the wrong, teach her the proper manners needed to become a respectable pony, and always had a story that would give her a good laugh here and there. All in all he was something that no other pony besides those he let close understand.

"So do you know where he might be now?" Apple Bloom just shook her head.

"No, we were going to take you home so your sister wouldn't worry. We had hoped we would also run into him on the way there. We even asked some of the other ponies, but they got all sad when we said his name." Now that was strange. She was really curious about just what happened once they had left Feral alone with that bird.

"Well then, I think I've had more than enough excitement to last for a while. I'll see you girls for some possible crusading tomorrow, but right now I think we all deserve a rest after today." Scootaloo gave the Unicorn an exhausted sigh.

"You have no idea."

It had taken a couple of minutes, but Sweetie Belle had finally made it back to her home. Opening the door, the ring of the bell above would have been the death of her if she hadn't already come up with an excuse for the bandage. Rarity was quick to come to the door and was delighted to see her sister return home. "Hello my sweet sister, where is Fer- What's with the bandage, what happened." Rarity's sister instincts awoke as she dashed over to Sweetie Belle and examined the spot that had been treated.

"It's fine sister, I just a few scratches while I was helping out Fluttershy. She put some medicine on it and put the bandage on." Hearing that seemed to instantly calm down the fashion Unicorn.

"As long as I know it was someone I trust watching over you. Now what about Feral, where did he run off to?"

"I'm not sure, he dropped me off here and then said he had some errands to attend to and just trotted off." That made Rarity cross her hooves and puff out her cheeks in annoyance.

"I swear, leaving without letting me give him a proper thank you. No matter how good his manners are, I'll have to give him a few lessons about common courtesy." Sweetie Belle could only giggle at her sister's silly antics.

"Well I'm going to go upstairs and rest a little. Fluttershy really has a lot more work cut out for her then we think. Can you please come get me if Feral shows up later?"

"Of course dear." With that Sweetie Belle went up to her room and Rarity went back to her work.

_Monster…proving me right…a jerk…over and done with…_

Each word he remembered stung even worse than when he had first heard it. He wanted to say that she was just acting on emotions, worried for her friend's safety, but something wouldn't let him leave it at that. Feral looked up through the leaves of the trees that he was perched in at Sweet Apple Acres. Since Applejack was done harvesting for the day the field was empty and it was a place where he could relax and think. He wasn't sure how to go about this problem. Rainbow Dash hadn't really found him at the best of times during that confrontation, so it wouldn't have helped him even if he tried to explain what had happened. Damn, guess even a supposedly thousand or so year old geezer didn't have the answer to this. "What's with the long face?" Feral wasn't as surprised as most should be when he heard the voice of the one who had decided to share the tree with him.

"Hey Pinkie, or should I say Pinkamena?" He had gotten used to the usual intrusions of the pink flaring pony, but he had also talked to her more emotional side too. It didn't seem as if any of her other friends had known about it, and he was made to Pinkie Promise that he wouldn't tell them about it either. He liked talking to the hyperactive pony, and her other side wasn't as bad as most might think with a first glance. Sometimes her darker side was a more rational and intelligent side since she wasn't all hyped up on happiness. The only noticeable difference between the two that you could see was that she seem to lose a lot of her bright color and her mane and tail straightened out. "What brings you here today?"

"Dodging the question won't help you or me."

"I'm having a bit of trouble with Rainbow Dash and her Gryphon friend." Pinkamena looked over to the white Earth pony with a sneer.

"You too?" Feral let an empty smirk grace his lips.

"So I'm not the only one it seems. What happened with you?"

"I was finally becoming good friends with Rainbow Dash while we were pulling some harmless pranks. It all ended when that feathered bitch kept trying to push me out of the picture. What about you."

"I kicked that same Gryphon into the side of a building hard enough to leave a dent in it and make her cry." Pinkamena gave off a long impressed whistle as she could only imagine how that must've turned out.

"Damn, and you couldn't at least record it or invite me?"

"It's not something I'm proud of at the moment. To her, I'm not her friend, just a monster." Hearing that caught Pinkamena's attention even more.

"That can't be true, that doesn't sound like Dash at all." Feral just gave her a cold and empty chuckle that sent chills up even her spine.

"I wish I was lying to you to, but it would be all for naught. I don't regret what I did though. Once she attacked Sweetie Belle, she was asking for what she got." The pink mare's eyes widened at what she had just learned about the Gryphon. Attacking one of the fillies, especially one so close to the warrior stallion, is a big mistake punishable by a nice smack down.

"Why don't you tell that to Dash? Maybe she can understand why you did what you did."

"It would be pointless to even try. I'm just some random stallion you all met not long ago. Rainbow Dash is somepony who lives off of loyalty, and seeing me do something like that to one of her childhood friends was a betrayal in her eyes." Pinkamena could only let out a sigh of defeat. What he said was pretty much the undeniable truth. Rainbow Dash was somepony who always put her trust in others that she considered friends, and those who harmed that trust was like taking her ability to fly from her. It would not be easy, impossible even, to gain her trust after what the stallion said he had pulled. She only wished that the rainbow speed demon could listen to reason and try to figure out both sides of the story before acting out.

"Applejack!" Both Earth ponies looked up at the sound scream to find the pony of topic flying up to the Apple Family home. Pinkamena watched what the Pegasus was doing out of curiosity, Feral looked on with a hint of fear in his eyes. After a few taps on the door they saw Applejack answer the door and step out onto the porch, closing the door behind her.

"What is it Rainbow Dash?"

"I came by to tell you to watch out for Feral. He isn't the pony we thought he was and I don't trust him around any of you anymore." The country pony's mouth just fell off its hinges as she stood still, staring flabbergasted at her Pegasus friend.

"Might I ask just why you suddenly telling me to stop calling someone that I've come to trust as a great farmhand and friend?"

"Maybe because of the fact that my friend from flight school is bandaged up in my house after getting beat up by said 'friend'. Is that good enough for you." Applejack's eyes widened in surprise at hearing that the kind stallion she had come to know had do something so violent, but something didn't add up with that statement. She had only seen him get violent once, and that was when Princess Luna was held on the blade of a knife. Maybe there was another reason behind him going buck wild.

"Did you ever ask him why he beat up your friend? Do you think there was a reason behind his actions?" Hearing Applejack try to side with the freak that harmed her friend boiled so much anger inside her.

"Why would I need to when I showed up to find Gilda curled up and crying and Feral just walking away from it all." Applejack could only shake her head at the Pegasus's rage. There was obviously no reasoning with her and Applejack didn't want to start a fight right now.

"Okay Dash, I'll keep a look out and be weary of him." Rainbow Dash nodded her head and turned around to prepare for takeoff, but something inside one the apple trees caught her curious eye.

"Hey!" She flew up to tree and was a bit surprised by who she found sitting on the branches. "What's up Pinkie? I haven't seen you since this morning." The bores looking Pinkamena looked up to the hovering Pegasus with a look of disgust, but a smile of lies.

"Oh hey Dashie, how's it going?"

"Pretty good, but I have to be off in a hurry. I need to warn everypony else about Feral." Pinkamena feigned a look of confusion.

"What do you mean? Why would you need to warn anypony about such a nice stallion?" Rainbow just scoffed at hearing the same thing twice.

"That's what everypony thinks, but he's bad news. Please be careful if you run into him, okay?" The pink mare nodded in acknowledgement and watched as Rainbow Dash took off back towards Ponyville. Pinkamena looked up to the sky and shook her head at her friend's bout of stupidity.

"I hope you know Dashie, trust is a shield to help protect those around you. It's also the knife that worms its way into your back." She looked off towards Ponyville in thought. "I hope he'll be alright." In a split second, the color returned to her complexion and her mane and tail blew back up into their bubbly shape. A solemn smile was stretched across her lips as Pinkie Pie stared off into the town. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Feral made his way through town with a slow trot. He was quick to ditch the scene once Rainbow Dash showed up at Sweet Apple Acres so as not to start another confrontation. His current destination was to head over to Rarity's. He was worried about how much damage Sweetie Belle got and wanted to make sure she was okay and made it home safely. It wasn't long before the boutique was in sight. Feral sped up a little and was at the door in no time. Opening the door he heard the trademark ring of the bell that alerted the Unicorn to any customers that came waltzing in. "Rarity, are you home?"

"Yes dear, I'll be in there in a second. Sweetie Belle, he's come back!" When he heard Rarity yell out the call to her sister the hoofsteps were instantaneous as the filly was down the stairs in record time.

"Feral!" Sweetie Belle jumped up at the stallion and wrapped her hooves around his neck the best she could in a hug. Feral returned it with a single hoof and set the filly down. "I'm glad you came back."

"Well I couldn't just leave now could I? I had to come check up on you and make sure that you were okay and came home." Sweetie Belle's face suddenly turned frantic when she was reminded about what had transpired a little over an hour ago.

"Shhhhh, Rarity doesn't know about that and I would like to keep it that way. She'll really freak out if she finds out about that weird bird thing." Their conversation was cut short as Rarity entered the room.

"Ah, it's about time you came back. You left before I could properly thank you for watching Sweetie Belle." The stallion only rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Sorry about that, I had to do some last minute work with Applejack."

"I'm just glad to know that you and my sister were safe on your little adventure through town." Feral was about to speak before the ringing of the front door bell caught their attention. When the stallion turned around his eyes became fearful once more. Rainbow Dash had entered the shop and was now grinding her teeth at seeing him near her friends.

"I thought I told you to stay away from my friends!" The Pegasus dashed forward with one of her hind hooves out in preparation for a kick. Feral jumped up onto his hind hooves and threw his front hooves out to the side like a shield. Her hoof connected with his exposed stomach, leaving him grunting in a brief moment of pain. Rainbow Dash smirked as she stepped back and watched the 'big bad stallion' hunched over grabbing his stomach. "Not so tough now, are you?" Rainbow Dash was surprised when she was instantly enveloped in a magical aura the pinned her against the wall. Taking his opening, Feral stumbled across the room as he ran into walls and furniture before almost falling out of the shop and running off. The Pegasus watched this in admiration before she turned to find a cowering Sweetie Belle and a rather pissed of Rarity.

"And just what do you think you doing my reckless Pegasus?" Rainbow smirked as she continued to think about she beat up the almighty Captain of the Eclipse.

"Giving him what he deserves. He could even dodge of block that kick, so much for a royal bodyguard."

"He seemed to be doing his job just fine to me on my end of the situation." This stumped the speed demon as she wondered just what Rarity was talking about. The look of confusion was all the fashion mare needed to continue. "Me and my sister Sweetie Belle were behind him before you decided to rush in and attack. If he had moved then you would have more than likely kicked and hospitalized Sweetie Belle and possibly myself. He took your kick like a true colt and protected us from harm." Rainbow tried to justify her actions, but was dropped unceremoniously dropped to the ground. "I want you out of my home and to think about just what your actions could have caused, and what they've already damaged." The Pegasus tried to speak once again, but her tail was gripped by magic once again and dragged her out the door. The last thing she saw was the teary eyes of anger Sweetie Belle laid on the Pegasus before the door was slammed in her face.

Feral rubbed his aching stomach as he slouched against a stall that was set up in the market. The mare could pack a punch, but it wasn't anything like what he used to take on every day. Looking around the market he noticed how lively the streets had become since the coming of noon. Everypony was out and about buying and selling goods to feed themselves or families. It made him happy to see all the friendly faces greeting and asking each other about their day. It was almost impossible to find something even remotely evil amongst the townsfolk. Taking a little longer to look around he spotted on mare he didn't think he would ever see in such a big crowd of people. He watched on as she was slowly walking backwards and guiding a small family of ducks through the busy streets. She was one of the mares that he got along with really well. Her gentle nature gave her a better understanding of other's feelings and made her one not to judge other ponies by their past. She was slowly maneuvering her way through all of the ponies, determined to get the ducks to wherever they were going. Feral was about to get up and go on his way, until he saw the one creature he was in no mood to meet. Gilda looked like she had recovered from her shock and decided to return to Ponyville. Everypony gave her a look of displeasure, but she still walked through the town with a smug grin. That wasn't what got to him though. No, it was the fact that she watched Fluttershy as she was backing up and purposefully stood in her way. It didn't take long before the timid mare collided with the Gryphon's forelegs and turn around in fear that she may have shown the one she bumped into disrespect. "Oh, I-I'm sorry I d-didn't mean to get in your w-way." The Gryphon only stared down at the Pegasus with bored lidded eyes.

"I don't take too kindly to wimps like you bumping into me."

"B-But I said I-I w-was sorry." Gilda only smiled as she cracked a one claw, and then the other.

"Sorry won't cut it." Gilda reared back her fist and prepared to unleash her pent up anger on the defenseless mare before her. Fluttershy could only cower in fear as she was knocked to the ground by the fierce punch the Gryphon delivered to her. Now she was left sobbing on the ground below Gilda, a small trail of blood leaking from her nose. The mare looked up in fear as Gilda only smiled at the pain she brought to the pathetic Pegasus. Clenching up her claw once more, she pulled back for another punch. "I think I need a round two to make sure I got all of the anger out." When she pulled forward, she was met with a resistance that held her claw back. Looking behind her to mouth of at whoever was butting in, her blood was frozen. The same stallion that put the bandages around her midsection was somehow keeping her fist at bay with his mane that was wrapped around her wrist with an iron grip. What worsened the situation was how she could feel the mane slowly constrict her wrist to the point that she could begin to feel excruciating pain flare in her whole foreleg.

"You've really gone and fucked yourself this time." Gilda's beak slowly opened as she felt the mane become tighter as time progressed. She felt it, the bones beginning to give out under the pressure and break. She couldn't scream, the fear was too much, her voice was caught in the pain. Nothing held him back as he continued crushing her wrist, that emotionless face making her fear for the life that the stallion held by a twine of thread. The tears were nothing but rivers as she had taken to gripping the snake like mane in a vain attempt of getting him to let up.

"Stop!" Gilda feel back in a painful relief as Fluttershy tackled Feral to the ground, getting him to let up his grip. Feral looked up to the mare that was once on the ground now crying into his coat. "Don't do something like this. I know you, this isn't you. You're better than this!" The stallion lifted himself up and wrapped both if his hooves around the Pegasus, slowly stroking her mane to try and calm her down.

"Shhhhh, don't think this is something I want to so myself, but I can't back and see my friends be hurt when I know I can help. It has been my duty as part of the Royal Guard and I have to hold up to that role." Widening his eyes in surprise he pushed Fluttershy off to the side before he was sent rocketing off into one of the nearby stalls, turning it into nothing but splintered firewood. Recovering from the sudden force, Fluttershy picked herself up to know see a raging Rainbow Dash trying her hardest to keep her breathing under control.

"So you just won't listen will you? Gotta keep picking on my friends and acting the part of the tough guy. Well that ends here! I'm going to take matters into my own hand and show you what it's like on the end of the receiver!" Feral picked himself out of the rubble of the merchant stand, standing on his hind hooves. His body was littered in small cuts here and there from the impact. Feral said nothing as he held his head low, the bangs of his mane blocking his face. "Oh, so now you're not going to run. Good, then take your punishment like a real stallion!" Everypony in the vicinity looked on as Rainbow Dash shot forward and laid out blow after blow on the still pony. Dash let loose her anger, hitting Feral in the chest, stomach, and face repeatedly without mercy. Bruises and whelps started to appear on his chest and stomach, and blood began to drip from his mouth and nose. Fluttershy couldn't believe what she was witnessing. One of her very own friends beating up on Feral for no reason, and he just taking each hit without trying to defend himself.

"Rainbow Dash, stop!" Her pleas felt on deaf ears as the Pegasus only seemed to put more force into her hits. After almost thirty minutes, Rainbow Dash finally let up and back away to view her work. His once pure white coat was no multiple shades of varying colors because of the bruises that were spread about. Small droplets of blood that fell from his mouth and nose also added to the mess. But even after all of that, he still stood tall. Seeing this just seemed to make even more anger rise within Rainbow Dash as he clenched her teeth.

"Still not ready to go down, then I'll make you bow to me!" She was prepared to shoot forward once again before she was stopped by the surprise that held her when she saw what happened next. All of the ponies that were present in the market had now created a wall between her and the stallion punching bag. She fell backwards as nothing but the eyes of anger and disappointment were directed at her and her alone. She didn't understand this, Feral was the one who should be getting this not her. He had gone and not only beat up her friend once, but no he had broken her wrist. Was everypony against her, had he somehow lied to them all and get them to help him? All of the negative looks all were gone as they turned to surprise as they watched Feral part the middle of the crowd and stand in front of the protective wall. Even Rainbow Dash looked surprised when he stepped forward and held out his two front hooves to his sides, head still bowed and face still shadowed. The Pegasus couldn't understand what was going on. First she thinks everypony is against her, then Feral disregards their help and puts himself back in the line of fire. She couldn't understand what was going on! Was he just taunting her now? Saying that she was weak and could never take him down? Acting quickly Rainbow Dash backed up to Gilda and hoisted her up before taking off towards Twilight's home. Hopefully she could not only heal the broken bone, but also give her some answers.

Everypony stared on at the retreating Pegasus before looking up to the hulking stallion. He was like a statue as he stood there in the same position for minutes. They were soon frightened, though, when his hooves fell limp and he collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Fluttershy jumped forward and started to assess the damage that was done to his body. It was difficult though as he was a large pony and was hard to turn over to check the other side of his body. She was startled out of her worry as the white Earth pony was hoisted off the ground. Looking up she found that the ponies in the square had picked up Feral and set him atop Big Macintosh's back. Big Mac danced the straw of wheat between his lips as he looked down to at Fluttershy. "Just lead the way." Caught up in the moment of trying to help a friend she nodded her head and took off with the second largest stallion of Ponyville to get her patient to someplace she can thoroughly go over his wounds.

"L…M…N! There we go!" Twilight smiled as she set the last book back in its place among the shelves. It had taken almost all day, but everything was no organized and clean. She was brought out of her admiration by a sudden knocking at her door. Quickly responding she opened the door via magic and was met by a winded Rainbow Dash and Gryphon she had never seen before.

"Twilight, I have a favor I need to ask!"

"Sure, come on in." The Pegasus entered and set her friend down on one of the couches inside the library. "So what is it you need Rainbow?"

"I need to know if it's possible to mend back broken bones with healing magic?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Feral broke Gilda's wrist and I need to know if you can heal it." That's where Twilight lost her voice as the gears inside her head when ballistic. Feral had become violent and harmed another pony? That didn't sound like something he would do at all. She knew that he had a past of needing to rely on violence, but had never seen him use except for the first day he arrived in Ponyville. Something didn't add up or sit right with her, and she was going to get the facts.

"Yes, but I want to speak to you after we're done. I'll need you to hold her down because I know from watching the doctors in the castle that this is a very unpleasant procedure." Rainbow Dash nodded and set both of her front hooves on Gilda's shoulders.

"This might hurt a little, but I promise you'll feel better afterwards." Twilight leaned her horn down towards the injured wrist as her horn flared with magic.

"Ready?" Rainbow Dash nodded as she applied more pressure to the Gryphon's shoulders before Twilight's horn connected with the broken wrist. Screams instantly broke from Gilda's beak as she felt the pain of the bones being forced back in place and slowly mended. To her though, this was nothing compared to when Feral had first broken it. Minutes passed before the procedure was complete and Twilight stood back. Sweat rolled down her face as she looked on at her work. The Gryphon had passed out over the pain and was now peacefully sleeping away the strain. The Unicorn fell back on the couch opposite to the other and moved her attention to the Pegasus in the room. "Okay, now I need some answers to how this happened. I'm curious as to how this all went down and why it happened in the first place."

"I can't tell you exactly why or how, but this is the second time I came across Feral attacking Gilda today. The first it seemed that he had somehow knocked her into a building and reduced her to a crying mess. The second had happened only a while ago, when he broke her wrist." Twilight processed this new information. So he had turned violent, but it also seemed that Rainbow was in the dark to reason as to why. His only violent action was done through the protection of the Princess when her safety was threatened. Since then, he had been nothing but kind and helpful to her and her friends.

"Do you think that something could have caused him to act the way he did?" Rainbow Dash only scoffed at what Twilight was getting at.

"I doubt that, Gilda isn't violent and doesn't pick on others like that jerk." Twilight couldn't judge the trust her Pegasus friend put in the Gryphon companion. She had only just met her and had yet to see her personality, so there was no way for her to pinpoint that she was in the wrong in this situation. She was silent as she watched Rainbow Dash set her Gryphon friend on her back and head for the door. "Thanks for your help Twilight. I'm gonna get Gilda to my house so she can rest a little before the party."

"Okay, but let me say one thing Rainbow. We have only seen Feral act violent once since he has been here and that was when someone who was close to him was in danger. I want you to be careful of what you say or do and keep an eye out on the world around you. Luna's life was at stake when he made his move, and he _killed_ those three bandits. There might be more behind this then me or you know." She got no reply as she heard the door to her library shut.

His body ached all over, mostly his stomach. He could feel the multiple bandages that were wrapped around his injuries. He was tough, but taking that many hits in the face would make anypony's vision blur and lose their senses. He tried to stay still and feel just how bad it was. He breathing hurt a bit, but nothing he couldn't deal with. Moving didn't hurt much except when he would bend his midsection where the bruising was worst. But on his back he could feel the gentle surface of a soft bed. That confused him seeing as how he was pretty sure he remembered meeting the ground face first in the market. Opening his eyes Feral found that he was inside somepony's house, Fluttershy's to be exact. Sitting up he jumped back in surprise when he was met with the friendly faces of those he had become close to during his stay. Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Twilight Sparkle, even Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. He was confused as to why they had come to see him since Rainbow Dash was telling them to be wary of him. Before any questions could be asked he was tackled by both Fluttershy and Sweetie Belle, both of which were now crying into his coat. Not sure how to act he settled for wrapping one hoof around each of the mares. Feral slowly stroked their manes as he gave a questioning stare to the rest of the ponies around him. Applejack stepped forward while giving him a warm smile and a tip of her hat. "Good to see that you're alive and kickin'. Gave us quite a scare when we saw you covered in all of those wounds once we came. Care to explain just what happened to you?" He opened his mouth to answer, but was surprised when Twilight beat him to the punch.

"Let me guess, Rainbow Dash?" Everypony, especially Feral, looked at the lavender Unicorn in surprise.

"Yeah, but how did you know that."

"I healed that Gryphon's wrist that you broke. She seemed pretty steamed and seeing this gave me a hunch that she might have let out some pent up frustration." Feral dropped his gaze to the ground, leaving his mane to hide his face from the others.

"Guess you think I'm some kind of monster to, huh?"

"No, I don't." This caused Feral's vision to swiftly snap to the brainy Unicorn. "You are one of Celestia and Luna's most trusted warriors. You have shown everypony in Ponyville nothing but kindness since your stay. You only showed your violent side when somepony around you was threatened or in trouble. Rainbow Dash told me that you beat up that Gryphon without reason, but I want to hear your side." Feral sighed as he tapped the mares that were still wrapped around him, causing them to back off as he pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard of the bed.

"I guess there's no avoiding it, though I wish I could have kept you all out of any danger. I only met the Gryphon, Gilda, today when I ran into Rainbow Dash a while after leaving Applejack's farm. When I saw her with Rainbow I thought the she was probably really cool, until I spoke to her. She was a piece of work indeed, but she only seemed to be that way with anypony that wasn't Rainbow Dash. The second time was when I was with Sweetie Belle. We had been walking through town when Apple Bloom and Scootaloo bump into us. Gilda was behind them and soon showed up. She called me a useless excuse for a stallion and Sweetie Belle didn't take to kindly to that. She tried to tell of Gilda, but that Gryphon did nothing but swat her off to the side." A sharp gasp came the filly's sister as the white Unicorn covered her mouth with both of her hooves. "When I saw that, everything inside me just snapped and the next thing I knew I kicked her into a wall. I told Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to bring Sweetie Belle to Fluttershy so that she could make sure the damage wasn't serious. When they took of Gilda tried to follow, but I kicked her back into the wall. After that she was nothing but a heap of tears so I tried to help her up so I could take her to a doctor. When I tried to approach she just screamed so I back up and asked the ponies that had been watching to make sure that she get help when she calmed down. I tried to leave after that, but Rainbow Dash showed up on the scene. She took Gilda off, but not before calling me a monster and saying she never wanted to see me again. We split ways after that little squabble. The second time I met Gilda was not too long ago inside the market. I had gone there after an encounter with Rainbow Dash at Rarity's home and decided to rest here for a while. While I was there I saw Fluttershy herding a small group of ducks down the street. What I didn't see until it was too late was the Gryphon that had purposefully stood in her way and let Fluttershy back into her. Fluttershy tried to be polite and apologize for being in her way, but Gilda wouldn't have any of that. Instead, she pulled back a claw and punched Fluttershy. That was where I was drawing the line. When she pulled back for a second hit I grabbed her wrist and stopped her. We sat there for a few minutes as I slowly crushed her wrist until I knew the bones were broken. I didn't go too far though since Fluttershy stopped me. I wasn't safe after that since I had to soon push Fluttershy away before Rainbow Dash tackled me into one of the carts. I picked myself and made no move to retaliate, I just stood there and did nothing. I let Rainbow Dash wail on me with everything she had. I took every punch, every kick, and every Mach tackle she threw at me. I wasn't going to hurt a friend so I put up with the pain until it was over. The next thing I knew, I had all of the ponies in the market trying to protect me. I didn't want that, they shouldn't have to get mixed up in my problems, so I pushed through and stood before Rainbow Dash. She didn't seem to want to continue and took off with Gilda, and then I passed out." After his story, everypony looked at Feral in a disgusted surprise. They knew that Rainbow Dash could be hot headed, but this was a bit over the top for her. Twilight seemed to be in more of an intellectual thought than looking into her friend's actions. It didn't seem that Feral had tried to hide any kind of detail from his story, and everything seemed to add up to the injuries that she had seen inflicted to the Gryphon. Only one thing could actually sway her belief.

"Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, can you vouch for his story?" Sweetie Belle removed the bandage on her cheek to reveal three diagonal cuts from the Gryphon's claws and Fluttershy nodded her head. When Rarity saw the cuts on her sister's face she instantly began to freak out.

"Oh the brutality, this will scar for sure! My dear little sister's beautiful coat, ruined!" Feral chuckled a little nervously at how the white Unicorn overreacted.

"Are you sure Rarity? She still looks like the same beautiful mare I've come to know." Rarity smiled at the compliment while a blush took Sweetie Belle's cheeks. "Besides, if a small scarring like that scares you then you sure don't want to see me on a bad day."

"What do you mean darling? You coat is as handsome as any I've ever seen before."

"Let's just say that magic is a beautiful thing these days." The mares were confused, but decided not to edge on the conversation seeing as how they had more important matters to attend to. While everypony was planning their next course of action, Feral looked around for the one mare he thought would be there with the rest of the party. "Hey, where's Pinkie Pie?"

"She said something about going to have a word with Rainbow Dash." Twilight offhandedly answered as she stared at the floor in deep thought. Every mare in the room was suddenly blown back as Feral shot out the door in a blinding burst of speed. He had to find the pink mare fast before she did anything she would regret.

Pinkamena was pissed, no she was beyond pissed. She couldn't believe that one of the mares she called a friend not only accused on of the nicest stallions she had ever known of being a monster, but also attacked him when he made no move to fight back. She was there the whole time at the market, watching from the eyes of Pinkie Pie. The whole thing with that damn Gryphon from Fluttershy leading the ducks to Feral falling from extensive exhaustion. Pinkie had tried to make a move to help Feral, but she was stopped when Big Macintosh told her not to jump in, that Rainbow might hurt her in blind rage. So Pinkie was forced to sit back and watch as Feral took the beating without a single flinch. After it was all said and done, Big Mac helped Fluttershy take the injured stallion to her house and she had gone and gathered up the rest of the group. After that they had all gathered at Fluttershy's and watched as she tended to the wounds spread out across his body. When she saw just how beaten he was, Pinkamena was quick to appear on the scene telling Twilight that she was going to go and have a 'chat' with their rainbow mane friend. She was now trotting through down, scanning each cloud in the sky for any sign of Rainbow either napping or training in her aerial acrobatics. It took a while, but after searching she had finally found the Pegasus after spotting a rainbow tail hanging from one of the clouds higher up in the sky. Taking no time for pleasantries, Pinkamena pulled her Party Cannon from wherever she keeps all of her stuff and lit the fuse. Rainbow Dash didn't know what hit her as a large wedding cake blindsided her and made her come tumbling to the ground with a mighty crash. Already used to falling with the crash landings she made after a failed aerial trick, she recovered in no time to find the straight haired Earth pony with a deathly calm face. Seeing that it was only Pinkie Pie and thinking that this was some kind of prank Rainbow Dash just laughed it off and dusted herself off. "Nice prank Pinkie Pie, I didn't even see that coming." To her surprise she was knocked down again by another boisterous blast from the cannon except this time it was a rather large and heavy rubber ball. Rainbow's vision was dizzy as she picked herself back off the ground. "Okay, that was a good one to." She heard the Party Cannon go off once again, but was fast enough to dodge the oncoming projectile. When she looked to see what was fired at her this time, she was shocked. Embedded in the ground was a large pink bowling ball that had Pinkie Pie's Cutie Mark on the side of it. Dash looked to the pink mare in anger as said mare just looked on in boredom. "That's too far Pinkie, what's the big idea?" Pinkamena just pursed her lips and tipped her to the side in mock confusion.

"Hmmm, whatever so you mean? I'm pretty sure that same question didn't run through your mind as you were mercilessly beating up on a stallion that had no intentions of fighting back. What about him? Don't you think that was a little too far?"

"That's different, he was picking on my friend for no reason!"

"Really, what makes you think that? Were you ever there when he actually fought that Gryphon brat? Did you ever ask him why he did it? Or how about letting him explain what happened? You should know after hanging out with him the whole time he's been here that he would never get violent unless provoked."

"What's that supposed to mean? You think that Gilda went and made him fight her? She's not like that, not after what we promised back in flight school."

"Well then you should know that Feral wouldn't hurt anypony unless he was protecting others. Hell. I would consider Gilda lucky if I were you."

"And why's that?"

"Because if you remember right, the last ones who got on his bad side didn't live to see the next day." The darkness within the usually perky mare's voice made Rainbow's blood run cold. What did she mean by that? Is she calling Gilda, one the only few that she trusted in her childhood, a liar. No, she wasn't going to let anypony go and slander an innocent name because of some stallion they had barely known.

"I don't believe you! I know Gilda, and I know that she wouldn't stoop as low as that!"

"As low as what? Punching defenseless Fluttershy in the middle of the market? I don't know, she seemed to be really enjoying herself when she was doing that." Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth as she listened to one of her best friends berate the one she had known almost all of her life.

"Shut up."

"Or how about when she just swatted away poor old Sweetie Belle? Didn't look like she had any regrets when she did that."

"Shut up!"

"I bet the look on her face as Feral put her in her place was quite the show all in itself."

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Pinkamena's eye widened as Rainbow Dash shot forth with a speed she had no way of maneuvering around. She clenched her shut and waited for the unstoppable force to collide with her, but only got a grunt of pain instead. Cracking open on eye, they were automatically thrown open at the sight before her. Feral had somehow jumped in front of her and took the blow for her.

Feral clenched his teeth as pain shot up through his body. Rainbow Dash looked surprised herself when she saw the whit Earth pony appear out of nowhere and take her kick. She was also frightened when the stallion coughed up a small glob of blood that landed on her coat. Removing her leg and backing up, the stallion fell to his knees as he held himself up on his front two hooves while coughing up a little more blood. Pinkamena recovered from the shock of seeing Feral and jumped to his side to try and help him up. "Are you okay?" She watched as he gave a few more hacks and coughs before finally stopping.

"Yeah, seems I have the most insanely unbelievable luck today. Always being there to protect everypony is nothing short from a great miracle I was given today." He finished with a few more coughs as he tried to catch his breath.

"Careful with talking, that kick against your unprotected stomach more than likely did a number on you." She helped him lay down as his breathing sputtered with each painful intake of air. Rainbow stared on at the pair in confusion as she tried to process just what had happened. She wiped a hoof against her coat and brought it to her eyes as she looked at the blood that had forced from Feral. She couldn't make heads or tails of just what was going on. First he was trying to hurt on the greatest friends she had ever made, and now he was protecting everypony he could.

"Feral!" Rainbow Dash looked to the right to find the rest of her friends gallop up to the downed Earth pony. Fluttershy was first to step forward since she had intelligently brought first aid supplies in case he upset his wounds. She didn't understand, all of them, every single pony she knew was trying to help the same stallion that hurt her to begin with.

"What are you doing Fluttershy? Don't help that monster!" Applejack stepped forward and blocked Rainbow's visual on the stallion.

"You need to calm down missy. You have no right to go and call anypony something they aren't." Rarity stepped up next to the country pony.

"She is right, this great colt should never be falsely accused in such a brutish manner. There a very few stallions with the manners and kindness he has shown us." Twilight stepped up to the right of Rarity.

"I would have to agree. He has given us no reason to not trust him since the day we met him. Neither had he shown any ill will towards me or any of the ponies I hold as friends." Rainbow Dash began to back up in fear as she was slowly outnumbered, but she wasn't going to just take it sitting down.

"Oh yeah, then why would same kind stallion go and bully those smaller than him? He's nothing but a fake, a weak excuse for a stallion, a joke of the so called Captain of the Eclipse."

"Really, because that same 'excuse of a stallion' protected me and Sweetie Belle from that so called 'friend' of yours." Everypony, even the cold Pinkamena, was frozen in shock when they hear the usually timid Fluttershy speak up against Rainbow's insults. Fluttershy marched her way between her friends and stood in front of Rainbow Dash with anger glinting in her eyes. "I know for a fact that this stallion has shown more kindness to everypony then even me, the Element of Kindness itself! I will not sit back and let you talk down about somepony who has not only helped me in becoming less shy, but who also became one of the greatest friends I ever had the pleasure of knowing. You never gave him any chance to explain his actions, the Element of Loyalty! I'm not going to sit here and give you reasons to not trust your Gryphon friend, but when the time comes that you see the truth don't expect a warm welcome from Feral." With that last bit said she returned back the downed body of Feral. "Come on Pinkie, help me take him to your place so we don't have to move him before the party." Pinkamena nodded as she helped Fluttershy set his body across both their backs before heading off for Sugar Cube Corner. Rainbow Dash had been reduced to tears after being yelled at by the one mare she would have never expected to show any anger or hate. She stared at the rest of her friends, wondering if any of them had anything similar to say. Twilight was there to answer her unspoken question with an unsure sigh.

"Look, we don't personally know this Gilda, but we do know Feral. We're not saying that Gilda is a bad pony, and we're not going to attempt to not be her friend, but if things come to worst you'll have to repent for the actions you have taken this day." The mares took off after Pinkamena and Fluttershy with those last few words said. Rainbow Dash didn't know what to believe anymore. Were her friends all against her, or was what she believed in truly a fraud.

"Well I must say that you look a lot more perky than what your were a few minutes ago." All of the other mares had left a little while after dropping Feral off, who was no lying in a corner of the bakery. He had been watching Pinkie Pie decorate her heart out for the Gryphon that had come into town that very day. He knew that, while Pinkamena didn't enjoy the thought of celebrating the coming of the Gryphon that caused so much trouble, Pinkie couldn't help but throw a party for everypony new she met. It was in her nature to try and make anypony that came to Ponyville have a fantastic first day.

"You should know better than anyone that I'm always happier when everything is fine in the moment. I can see what happens, no matter who I am at the time. Pinkamena is still me, she's just when I need a little more 'umph' for the situation." Feral threw a warm smile to the pink party pony.

"No matter which I always enjoy talking to you. Pinkie always brings a smile to my face in even the darkest of moments." Pinkie Pie said nothing as she continued on with her decorating, a smile on her face and a twinge of red on her cheeks. While she kept up her work Feral slowly stood up in his small corner. It was still painful to move, but he could deal with it. Standing on all fours he tapped each boot against the ground and proceeded to remove them and push them off to the side before ungracefully falling back to the ground. The sudden commotion caught Pinkie's attention and she was quick to move to his side.

"Hey now, no moving. Fluttershy said that you shouldn't upset your injuries, otherwise it'll be longer before you can actually move anywhere."

"I know, but it gets really uncomfortable wearing those boots and lying down for such an extended period of time." That said, he curled up into a ball and rested back into the corner. "I'll let you get back to the preparations. If I'm not awake before the party start then don't worry about me, I don't think I could do much anyway." His vision suddenly went dark before he pulled a blanket off of his face. He looked up to see Pinkie back on decorating duty. "Thanks." He wrapped the blanket around himself before closing his eyes and lying his head against the floor. He couldn't see it, but Pinkie's smile grew a little wider.

Ponies of all shapes, sizes, and colors filed inside Sugar Cube Corner as the party was underway. Pinkie sat at the front door and greeted each one that walked in. When she thought the last of the ponies had arrived, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash showed up. She greeted each one with a warm welcome and smile as they passed through. Now all they had to was wait for the guest of honor and then they could truly start the party. They didn't have to wait long as said Gryphon walked into the pitch black bakery. "You here Dash, I saw the letter on the fridge."

"SURPRISE!" Gilda was startled by the sudden scream and jumped back when she saw all of the ponies that were gather inside the store. Pinkie stepped forward and threw a hoof around the Gryphon's neck.

"Welcome to Ponyville, I hope you like the party!" Gilda grabbed Pinkie's hoof and removed it from her neck.

"Yeah, thanks." Gilda looked through the crowd before she spotted Rainbow Dash and quickly made her way over to her friend. "Hey Dash, what is this exactly?"

"My friend Pinkie Pie like to throw every new face that walks into Ponyville a welcoming party. I think you'll really enjoy it." Gilda looked at the ocean of color as many different ponies coerced between one another. She was never really good with dealing with a crow of other ponies for that matter, but she would try if it meant getting this party over with faster. While Gilda did that, Pinkie checked on Feral and was surprised to find that he was still sleeping. How could he have not been bothered by all of that noise? Oh well, he said to leave him be if he wasn't awake so she wouldn't bother him. Getting back to the party she was amused by the fact that Gilda had already gotten herself mixed into their little group of friends, and was currently getting hit by the countless pranks that were laid out among the normal looking party favors and such. Oh this party was going to be her best one yet, well, almost the best.

Weird things had been going down ever since she met that weird pink pony and her group of friends, and now she was cautious about what she should do next at this death trap of a party. Gilda looked through everything laid out across the platters on the table. She was getting kind of hunger, but she was afraid what would happen should she choose to eat the wrong thing. She had already had some less then pleasing experience with the hot sauce and would like to avoid any repeat f that if possible. "Hey Gilda, how are you liking the party so far?" The Gryphon was startled out of her thoughts when Rainbow Dash came up behind her.

"Oh yeah, it's pretty cool I guess."

"Good to hear that, Pinkie always lives up to her word when there's a party involved." Rainbow Dash jumped back into the crowd, leaving Gilda to her thoughts once more. She might as well try and enjoy what little she could. Right before she was about to walk back into the fray, she saw something that split a grin across her beak. She would have missed it in all of the colors that swarmed the bakery, but she would never forget that ghastly white coat. Sitting over in the corner was the insolent stallion that had been her living hell since she had arrived, and he was just sleeping away! Defenseless to any payback she would hope to come up with make him see just what he put her through. She marked that corner in her mind and continued on to the party's center. When she rejoined the group she was dumbstruck by the huge cake that was placed in the middle of everypony. Annoyingly, the pink pony jumped to her side and threw another hoof around her neck.

"This cake is all yours. I hope you like it, I put every ounce of might heart in it"

"All for me?" Gilda, with a side smile, moved in to take the first bite before Pinkie appeared in front of her and stuck a hoof in her mouth.

"Nah ah ah, not before you blow out the candles!" Gilda rolled her eyes, but decided against a smart ass remark and to humor the pink monstrosity. When the hoof was removed she stood up on her hind legs and took a deep breath, and the let out a mighty gust that diminished the flame on each wick. The Gryphon smiled in triumph and reached for the first slice before the candles were mysteriously ignited once more. Narrowing her eyes, Gilda took a second huff and blew the candles out again. She stared at them for a few minutes, nodding her head once she was sure that they were finally out. Going for the cake again, the candles went up in flames again. Gilda shook with rage, she was done with these games, done with these ponies trying to make fools of her. Rearing up on her back legs she unleashed a hellish roar that echoed beyond the walls of Sugar Cube Corner. Gilda whirled around on the ponies with bloodshot eyes of rage. These ponies must have thought it was funny, they were probably getting a good snicker as she made a fool of herself.

"You guys must think you're all funny. Putting up all of these stupid weak pranks to try and make fun of me. You ponies are nothing but a bunch of jokes!" Gilda threw a claw around Rainbow Dash's neck. "Me and Dash here are so cool that you losers can't even amount. None of you are even worthy of being graced with our presence. Come on Dash, I'm sure we could find something way better than this lame excuse of a party." Gilda took back her claw and slowly made her way to the door, leaving behind many mouth gaping ponies in her wake. Stopping at the door she turned around thinking to find Rainbow Dash behind her, only to see the rainbow mare frozen as she stared at the ground, the faint glint of tears falling to the floor. "What's up Rainbow Dash? Oh let me guess, you have something to tell the freakish losers to? I want to stay for that then, can't wait to se-"

"Are you serious?" Gilda took a step back in surprise of the anger that she felt from Rainbow's voice.

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"After all of the kindness that my friends showed you, after I backed you up against everything they downed on you, was it all true? I believed in you, trusted that nothing they said was true, and I still don't want to believe it, but you're not giving me any hope now. I said thing that I can never take back now, that will never be forgotten, and could have possibly lost a really awesome friend because I trusted you more than him. Is it true Gilda, is everything that's happened since you got here been your fault?"

"Of course not, that Feral asshole started everything since I've gotten here! If you've forgotten, he's the reason for these wraps around my stomach and why my wrist was broken! How can you even think it was my fault?"

"I may not have listened when I should have, but I was told that here are two sides to every story. I was so worried about your health that I never tried to get the other side, I only cared for making sure you were okay. We can be civilized and you can explain it to me, or I can get the story from everyone else that was either watching or involved in the conflict. I don't want to do this Gilda, but there isn't much choice you're giving me right now." Gilda stood wide eyed at the mare that she had called friend throughout her entire childhood. Everypony back away from the Gryphon as they heard a cold chuckle emanate from the mythical beast, before it was a full blow laughter that rattled the bones of the party goers.

"Yeah so what? Those losers aren't cool enough to be friends with you anyways. It's always been me and you Dash, ever since Flight School. Yeah I slapped some filly, and sure I punched some wimpy pony, but they don't deserve your friendship. They'd just turn their back on you, just like all those years ago. That Feral guy acted tough, but he was nothing but talk that could only hit me when my guard was down. I saw how you tore him a new one, so he's also another wimpy pony in this town."

"No, you're wrong about him, about everypony." Gilda's grin twisted into something vicious that was close to splitting her in two.

"And how am I? We weren't wrong about those so called 'friends' before, what makes you so sure that I'm wrong now?"

"Because these friends have never given me any reason to believe that they'd betray me. The kindness, the friendship, the trust that we have in one another has given me more than enough belief that their backs with never turn on me. And even though I put him in the wrong light, Feral has also been one of those friends even after knowing him for so little time. He has an amazing heart that brings happiness to the ponies around him and has been an idol for the small, or a wall to lean on should they need assistance. Besides, Twilight was right when she said you were lucky with what damage you got away with seeing as you weren't here the first day he came to Ponyville." Gilda just laughed at what she thought was some kind of empty threat to scare her away.

"Ooohhhh, what could that big bad pussy stallion have done that was so bad?" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at how she would down talk somepony the town looked up to, especially using such foul language around the young.

"The last three ponies that fought him had threatened the Princesses themselves, and those three had met the end of those blades on the end of his boots." Gilda's whole world crashed down at the mention of murder. Was she being serious now, or was she still fooling with her? What could this mean? Was he just toying with her when they fought? He wasn't even taking her seriously and wasn't even trying! No no no, that couldn't be true, that wimpy ass stallion couldn't have the balls to kill anyone! She was just playing her, she was on their side! They were all against her from the start! She should have seen this coming, nopony could ever truly be her friend. Well fuck them! She wasn't about to leave without getting some last words in!

"Pfft, like I'll fall for some fail ass bluff. Let's just test how much of an amazing warrior you guys think he is." Catching everypony off guard, Gilda shot through the crowd and was behind a sleeping Feral in some offset corner. Nopony knew when it happened, but she had somehow grabbed one of the stallion's boots at some interval of time they hadn't seen. "Some amazing guard of the Princess wouldn't sleep when his enemy is near, nor would he just leave his weapon out for anypony to grab!" Many of the onlookers turned their heads away as to not watch the horror that was about to unfold, while the Mane Six and a few others couldn't peel their eyes from such a dastardly display of cowardice. "I wonder if they'd offer me a place in the Canterlot…in exchange for his head!" Gilda tilted the bladed boot before bringing it down with all her might, sights on ending the stallion that had gone and ruined her life. Pulling a small but of the blanket back, her smile was once more wicked as she felt the boot strike and witnessed blood soak the inside of the blanket. "And there you have it, the so called Eclipse Guard taken down in a short moment of weakness! Now to finish the job." She pulled her claw back, but was shocked when she was met with resistance when trying to return her claw. Gilda smiled when she already had a guess at what the reason for that was. "Looks like the blade went a lot deeper than I expected. At least I know there's no coming out of this alive." She kept trying to pull back, grinning like mad as she watched even more blood pour into the cloth. Things started to get aggravating when she couldn't get the blade to come out.

"If you keep doing that you're going to end up bleeding out." Everypony in the room froze as the voice pierced the ears of the worried, and deafened the ones of the mad. Gilda thrashed her head about as she pulled back to find something that made her scream. The white Earth pony that she was so sure she had killed was caked in blood, but not his own. To the surprise of every wandering eye Feral's mane was wrapped around the blade of the boot and held it in place. The next thing was how that same mane had split itself up and pierced Gilda's claw in multiple places, leaving it to expel blood and worsened from when she had tried to pull it back. Gilda was ghost white as Feral's emotionless gaze dropped on her. "Did you really think that was the only way of combat I had, don't take me so lightly. Me being a monster is only half right, seeing as how I myself am a living weapon and a freak of nature." Feral's mane slithered out of Gilda's claw, leaving a bloody mess that dropped the boot and fell back with its host. Gilda slowly crawled backwards as Feral slowly staggered while trying to stand up. When he was finally stable he walked over to one of the table and sat down on a vacant chair. "I have no further words for you. I'll let everypony else deal with you the way they see fit." That's when Gilda was reminded of the audience she had gained and looked to see everypony slowly closing in on her. Without thinking, Gilda was up and limping out of the bakery as fast as her injured claw could take her. They were about to give chase, but Feral halted that idea. "Stop you guys, you shouldn't waist energy on such trivial matters." Everypony pony seemed taken aback by how casual the stallion was about what had transpired, but none were as vocal as Twilight.

"What, you're just going to let her leave like that after she tried to take your life?"

"I'm alive so everything's all right." Feral let out a small pained grunt as he was tackled by Pinkie Pie.

"I was so scared, I thought she had actually gotten you." The white stallion gave the pink mare a warm smile before ruffling her mane, which didn't really change any appearances in the already wild style. A second grunt was forced from him as he was tackled by a blue blur. Feral was surprised when he looked down and found a wailing Rainbow Dash on his chest. It was weird because she was always so cool and composed, so it was weird to see her in this state.

"It's all my fault! If I had just listened to you, given you a chance to speak this would have never happened. I said things that I should have never said to somepony as great as you. You're not a monster or a freak, you're my friend. Please forgive me, I don't think I could stand to know that you hate me!"

"Hey hey, calm down. I never said I hated your or wasn't your friend." Rainbow Dash gave a sniff and looked up to the white Earth pony.

"But all of those things I said."

"I know that you just wanted to believe the one you had known all of your life. That's normal for anypony. We're still friends and always will be, don't forget that." Rainbow smiled and backed off of Feral, a slight tinge of red on her cheeks. Feral picked himself off the ground and dusted his coat off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm really tired and would like to go home and rest. I'll answer anything you want tomorrow. Be seeing you girls." All of the mares watched as he stepped out of the bakery and made his way home.

"There goes one of the coolest stallions ever."

It wasn't long before night hit and left Feral walking home in the dark. He had to admit that this had been one of his most interesting days in a long time. Wasn't every day you had some random citizen try to go all medieval assassin on you. The walk home was a rather silent one, or he thought it would hopefully be that way. But it wouldn't be as a small whimper caught a small bit of attention from his ear. It was faint and at first he thought it was just a trick of exhaustion, but it got louder as he kept on walking. Curious, he was brought to a small alleyway between two buildings and was not as surprised as he should have been with what he found. A broken, bleeding, and unconscious Gilda was left withering away in the dark after her fearful retreat from the party. She was nothing but a former husk of the tough persona she took on during her time here, and was just a weak soul that was drowning in despair. He stared at the Gryphon before smacking himself in the face. This was going to cause an ass load of problems, but he wasn't some heartless bastard. Picking up the Gryphon and throwing her on his back, he made his way once more to his home. "I swear, Fluttershy is rubbing off on me so much it's scary. This is going to fuck me up somewhere, I can just feel it."

Well fuck, I just woke up a seven o'clock in the morning to remember that I didn't put anything down here like I usually do. I was glad that I was able to bring out such a big chapter for this story seeing as how the three chapters it has are pretty much some of the biggest I have out of the three stories I've begun to write. This chapter also shows how much a lot of the community hate Gilda, and I somewhat pity her. I've never seen any MLP story that has tried to give Gilda a chance and I wanted to try something different and amusing. Just like how it is will almost every bully, there's always some other reason for them to act the way they do half the time. And thus this chapter was born! I do hope everyone that reads this story enjoys it since I know my updating is a bit on the slow side, but that's also usually the reason I put up big chapters to make up for lost time. Also I am going to go ballistic with using Pinkamena because I fine her to be an amazing character, no matter how the community had thrown her into a darker corner. I think that we all know that Pinkie Pie isn't truly that innocent and I find that the stories that keep her that way tend to make her look childish and ignorant, except if the story is a K+ then it's all good. Lastly, though I'm sure not many will really care, I am going to put up a cover art for this story. At first it will be in black and white since the rough draft will be on paper, but then I'm going to go back and make a digital image and swap them out. So that's out there for anyone who cares because I'd like to see what you guys think about it myself. With that all said and done I'll see you guys and gals when I get the next chapter up.

Embodiment of Darkness


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